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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Physicians, Pathologists?
Task-level automation exposure for Physicians, Pathologists: 19 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
43%
weighted task index
19 of 19 tasks scored
Median Salary
$312,400 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
11,110 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+4.8%
employment change
300 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 33 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$83,610 – $413,370
Highest medians
Pennsylvania $413,370
West Virginia $400,070
Nevada $384,350
Illinois $381,770
Minnesota $362,270
Lowest medians
Wisconsin $83,610
California $186,300
Vermont $188,250
Georgia $211,800
Arkansas $214,100
State figures come from the 29-1222 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 43%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 11%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 64%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 11%
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 73/100
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
19 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) 14%
2 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 59%
11 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 27%
6 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
#17194 · Core · 35% automatable
Examine microscopic samples to identify diseases or other abnormalities.
physical manipulation — Specimen analysis requires lab instruments and hands
Analyze laboratory specimens to detect abnormalities or other problems.
#17195 · Core · 31% automatable
Diagnose diseases or study medical conditions, using techniques such as gross pathology, histology, cytology, cytopathology, clinical chemistry, immunology, flow cytometry, or molecular biology.
decision support — AI suggests differentials; clinician examines and owns diagnosis
Diagnose medical conditions. Operate laboratory equipment to analyze medical samples.
#17190 · Core · 68% automatable
Write pathology reports summarizing analyses, results, and conclusions.
text generation — Summarize diagnostic and care activities into reports
Prepare reports summarizing patient diagnostic or care activities.
#17192 · Core · 55% automatable
Communicate pathologic findings to surgeons or other physicians.
information retrieval — Relaying results is structured; interpretation stays human
Communicate test or assessment results to medical professionals.
#17187 · Core · 42% automatable
Identify the etiology, pathogenesis, morphological change, and clinical significance of diseases.
data analysis — Analysis aided; bench experiments need human hands
Research microbiological or chemical processes or structures.
#17180 · Core · 75% automatable
Read current literature, talk with colleagues, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in pathology.
information retrieval — AI summarizes medical updates; human retains judgment
Maintain medical or professional knowledge.
#17193 · Core · 40% automatable
Consult with physicians about ordering and interpreting tests or providing treatments.
interpersonal — Treatment planning collaboration is accountable clinical work
Collaborate with healthcare professionals to plan or provide treatment.
#17191 · Core · 58% automatable
Analyze and interpret results from tests, such as microbial or parasite tests, urine analyses, hormonal assays, fine needle aspirations (FNAs), and polymerase chain reactions (PCRs).
visual inspection — Image interpretation assists; radiologist owns diagnosis
Analyze test data or images to inform diagnosis or treatment.
#17178 · Core · 45% automatable
Review cases by analyzing autopsies, laboratory findings, or case investigation reports.
decision support — Cause of death requires medical-legal accountability
Analyze medical data to determine cause of death.
#17179 · Core · 35% automatable
Manage medical laboratories.
interpersonal — Healthcare operations accountability and staffing are human
Manage healthcare operations.
#17181 · Core · 50% automatable
Develop or adopt new tests or instruments to improve diagnosis of diseases.
decision support — Assessment methods drafted; clinical validation human
Develop health assessment methods or programs.
#17182 · Core · 30% automatable
Educate physicians, students, and other personnel in medical laboratory professions, such as medical technology, cytotechnology, or histotechnology.
interpersonal — Provider training is clinical, hands-on, accountable
Train medical providers.
#17185 · Core · 30% automatable
Plan and supervise the work of the pathology staff, residents, or visiting pathologists.
interpersonal — Supervising clinicians requires accountability and live judgment
Supervise technical medical personnel.
#17184 · Core · 45% automatable
Perform autopsies to determine causes of deaths.
decision support — Cause of death requires medical-legal accountability
Analyze medical data to determine cause of death.
#17188 · Supplemental · 34% automatable
Diagnose infections, such as Hepatitis B and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), by conducting tests to detect the antibodies that patients' immune systems make to fight such infections.
decision support — AI suggests differentials; clinician examines and owns diagnosis
Test biological specimens to gather information about patient conditions. Diagnose medical conditions.
#17186 · Supplemental · 5% automatable
Obtain specimens by performing procedures, such as biopsies or fine needle aspirations (FNAs) of superficial nodules.
physical manipulation — Invasive specimen collection needs hands-on clinical skill
Collect biological specimens from patients.
#17189 · Supplemental · 35% automatable
Conduct genetic analyses of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or chromosomes to diagnose small biopsies and cell samples.
physical manipulation — Specimen analysis requires lab instruments and hands
Analyze laboratory specimens to detect abnormalities or other problems.
#17183 · Supplemental · 46% automatable
Conduct research and present scientific findings.
interpersonal — Medical research presentation needs human delivery
Conduct research to increase knowledge about medical issues. Present medical research reports.
#17177 · Supplemental · 15% automatable
Testify in depositions or trials as an expert witness.
interpersonal — Testimony carries legal accountability and live presence
Testify at legal or legislative proceedings.
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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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