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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric?
Task-level automation exposure for Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric: 18 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
34%
weighted task index
18 of 18 tasks scored
Median Salary
$300,080 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
8,950 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+4.5%
employment change
200 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 34 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$101,940 – $450,370
Highest medians
Rhode Island $450,370
New Hampshire $404,330
California $400,150
Florida $399,440
Iowa $394,900
Lowest medians
Kentucky $101,940
Louisiana $155,250
Indiana $168,600
Virginia $177,410
Michigan $179,720
State figures come from the 29-1241 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 34%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 0%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 62%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 7%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 91/100
High
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
18 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 7%
1 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 44%
8 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 50%
9 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Constituent Tasks
#17175 · Core · 15% automatable
Perform comprehensive examinations of the visual system to determine the nature or extent of ocular disorders.
physical manipulation — Vision tests require hands-on patient examination
Test patient vision.
#17176 · Core · 28% automatable
Diagnose or treat injuries, disorders, or diseases of the eye and eye structures including the cornea, sclera, conjunctiva, or eyelids.
decision support — AI suggests differentials; clinician examines and owns diagnosis
Diagnose medical conditions. Treat chronic diseases or disorders.
#17166 · Core · 30% automatable
Provide or direct the provision of postoperative care.
decision support — Post-surgical monitoring is hands-on clinical observation
Monitor patients following surgeries or other treatments.
#17162 · Core · 38% automatable
Develop or implement plans and procedures for ophthalmologic services.
decision support — Medical plans need exam, liability, and clinical judgment
Develop medical treatment plans.
#17169 · Core · 14% automatable
Prescribe or administer topical or systemic medications to treat ophthalmic conditions and to manage pain.
decision support — Prescribing medications is licensed high-stakes judgment
Administer non-intravenous medications. Prescribe medications.
#17171 · Core · 38% automatable
Develop treatment plans based on patients' histories and goals, the nature and severity of disorders, and treatment risks and benefits.
decision support — Medical plans need exam, liability, and clinical judgment
Develop medical treatment plans.
#17173 · Core · 2% automatable
Perform ophthalmic surgeries such as cataract, glaucoma, refractive, corneal, vitro-retinal, eye muscle, or oculoplastic surgeries.
physical manipulation — Surgery is physical and high-accountability
Operate on patients to treat conditions.
#17163 · Core · 55% automatable
Educate patients about maintenance and promotion of healthy vision.
decision support — Wellness advice needs tailoring and clinical accountability
Provide health and wellness advice to patients, program participants, or caregivers.
#17167 · Core · 62% automatable
Document or evaluate patients' medical histories.
interpersonal — Patient history requires live elicitation and judgment
Record patient medical histories.
#17170 · Core · 52% automatable
Perform, order, or interpret the results of diagnostic or clinical tests.
visual inspection — Image interpretation assists; radiologist owns diagnosis
Analyze test data or images to inform diagnosis or treatment. Order medical diagnostic or clinical tests.
#17159 · Core · 50% automatable
Provide ophthalmic consultation to other medical professionals.
decision support — Clinical advice needs licensed accountability and context
Advise medical personnel regarding healthcare issues.
#17160 · Core · 55% automatable
Refer patients for more specialized treatments when conditions exceed the experience, expertise, or scope of practice of practitioner.
decision support — Clinical referral judgment needs licensed human accountability
Refer patients to other healthcare practitioners or health resources.
#17172 · Core · 2% automatable
Perform laser surgeries to alter, remove, reshape, or replace ocular tissue.
physical manipulation — Surgery is physical and high-accountability
Operate on patients to treat conditions.
#17165 · Core · 40% automatable
Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams of health professionals to provide optimal patient care.
interpersonal — Treatment planning collaboration is accountable clinical work
Collaborate with healthcare professionals to plan or provide treatment.
#17168 · Core · 28% automatable
Prescribe corrective lenses such as glasses or contact lenses.
decision support — Device prescription needs clinical assessment and accountability
Prescribe assistive medical devices or related treatments.
#17174 · Core · 25% automatable
Prescribe ophthalmologic treatments or therapies such as chemotherapy, cryotherapy, or low vision therapy.
decision support — Prescribing therapy requires licensed clinical accountability
Prescribe treatments or therapies.
#17161 · Supplemental · 30% automatable
Instruct interns, residents, or others in ophthalmologic procedures and techniques.
interpersonal — Provider training is clinical, hands-on, accountable
Train medical providers.
#17164 · Supplemental · 40% automatable
Conduct clinical or laboratory-based research in ophthalmology.
information retrieval — Literature review aided; wet-lab and clinical research human
Conduct research to increase knowledge about medical issues.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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