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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Producers and Directors?
Task-level automation exposure for Producers and Directors: 30 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
49%
weighted task index
30 of 30 tasks scored
Median Salary
$90,360 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
High
143,120 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+4.0%
employment change
12,100 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 51 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$38,820 – $129,790
Highest medians
California $129,790
New Jersey $119,840
New York $107,550
District of Columbia $104,270
Connecticut $88,260
Lowest medians
Arkansas $38,820
West Virginia $46,660
Mississippi $48,100
Puerto Rico $48,820
Nebraska $52,580
State figures come from the 27-2012 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 49%
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 56%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 8%
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 9/100
Low
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
30 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) 31%
9 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 41%
13 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 28%
8 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
#22515 · Core · 62% automatable
Plan details such as framing, composition, camera movement, sound, and actor movement for each shot or scene.
decision support — Technical requirements drafted; human owns spec
Determine technical requirements of productions or projects.
#22516 · Core · 30% automatable
Communicate to actors the approach, characterization, and movement needed for each scene in such a way that rehearsals and takes are minimized.
interpersonal — Artistic coordination needs human creative leadership
Coordinate artistic activities.
#22517 · Core · 25% automatable
Direct live broadcasts, films and recordings, or non-broadcast programming for public entertainment or education.
interpersonal — Directing live productions requires human leadership
Direct productions or performances.
#22522 · Core · 55% automatable
Research production topics using the internet, video archives, and other informational sources.
information retrieval — AI gathers references; creative synthesis is human
Conduct research to inform art, designs, or other work.
#22523 · Core · 45% automatable
Review film, recordings, or rehearsals to ensure conformance to production and broadcast standards.
decision support — Content curation aided; editorial accountability human
Manage content of broadcasts or presentations.
#22519 · Core · 72% automatable
Study and research scripts to determine how they should be directed.
text generation — Script comprehension and requirement extraction well handled
Study scripts to determine project requirements.
#22520 · Core · 30% automatable
Supervise and coordinate the work of camera, lighting, design, and sound crew members.
interpersonal — Coordinating production personnel is live supervisory work
Coordinate activities of production personnel.
#22521 · Core · 55% automatable
Confer with technical directors, managers, crew members, and writers to discuss details of production, such as photography, script, music, sets, and costumes.
interpersonal — Technical detail negotiation is interactive human work
Collaborate with others to determine technical details of productions.
#22532 · Core · 29% automatable
Perform management activities, such as budgeting, scheduling, planning, and marketing.
interpersonal — Coordinating production personnel is live supervisory work
Manage operations of artistic or entertainment departments or organizations. Coordinate activities of production personnel.
#22524 · Core · 20% automatable
Consult with writers, producers, or actors about script changes or "workshop" scripts, through rehearsal with writers and actors to create final drafts.
interpersonal — Collaborative artistic production needs live human coordination
Collaborate with others to prepare or perform artistic productions.
#22525 · Core · 50% automatable
Identify and approve equipment and elements required for productions, such as scenery, lights, props, costumes, choreography, and music.
decision support — Prop selection depends on creative and physical context
Select materials or props.
#22526 · Core · 62% automatable
Establish pace of programs and sequences of scenes according to time requirements and cast and set accessibility.
decision support — Technical requirements drafted; human owns spec
Determine technical requirements of productions or projects.
#22527 · Core · 58% automatable
Conduct meetings with staff to discuss production progress and to ensure production objectives are attained.
interpersonal — Ongoing production discussion requires shared human context
Discuss production content and progress with others.
#22528 · Core · 82% automatable
Compile scripts, program notes, and other material related to productions.
text generation — Technical documentation compilation, human reviews accuracy
Compile technical information or documentation.
#22530 · Core · 45% automatable
Resolve personnel problems that arise during the production process by acting as liaisons between dissenting parties when necessary.
decision support — AI aids logistics planning; on-site event execution human
Coordinate logistics for productions or events.
#22518 · Core · 30% automatable
Coordinate the activities of writers, directors, managers, and other personnel throughout the production process.
interpersonal — Coordinating production personnel is live supervisory work
Coordinate activities of production personnel.
#22538 · Core · 45% automatable
Obtain rights to scripts or to such items as existing video footage.
decision support — Legal permissions need counsel and formal filings
Obtain copyrights or other legal permissions.
#22539 · Supplemental · 62% automatable
Write and submit proposals to bid on contracts for projects.
text generation — Draft proposals; human tailors and owns commitments
Develop proposals for current or prospective customers.
#22533 · Supplemental · 66% automatable
Compose and edit scripts or provide screenwriters with story outlines from which scripts can be written.
text generation — AI edits prose well; human owns voice and final judgment
Edit written materials. Write material for artistic or entertainment purposes.
#22535 · Supplemental · 55% automatable
Cut and edit film or tape to integrate component parts into desired sequences.
visual inspection — AI assists cuts; editorial and technical judgment human
Edit audio or video recordings.
#22514 · Supplemental · 84% automatable
Write and edit news stories from information collected by reporters and other sources.
text generation — Write informational material from brief
Edit written materials. Write informational material.
#22536 · Supplemental · 67% automatable
Choose settings and locations for films and determine how scenes will be shot in these settings.
text generation — Content selection aided; audience judgment human
Determine technical requirements of productions or projects. Determine presentation subjects or content.
#22537 · Supplemental · 45% automatable
Review film daily to check on work in progress and to plan for future filming.
decision support — Content curation aided; editorial accountability human
Manage content of broadcasts or presentations.
#22534 · Supplemental · 35% automatable
Negotiate with parties, including independent producers and the distributors and broadcasters who will be handling completed productions.
interpersonal — Service negotiation needs live bargaining authority
Negotiate for services.
#22529 · Supplemental · 45% automatable
Perform administrative duties, such as preparing operational reports, distributing rehearsal call sheets and script copies, and arranging for rehearsal quarters.
decision support — AI aids logistics planning; on-site event execution human
Coordinate logistics for productions or events.
#22540 · Supplemental · 58% automatable
Develop marketing plans for finished products, collaborating with sales associates to supervise product distribution.
text generation — Promotional strategy drafted; human tailors and approves
Develop promotional strategies or plans.
#22531 · Supplemental · 30% automatable
Arrange financing for productions.
interpersonal — Fundraising requires relationships, persuasion, and donor accountability
Direct fundraising or financing activities.
#22541 · Core · 32% automatable
Hire principal cast members and crew members, such as art directors, cinematographers, and costume designers.
decision support — Selection judgment and accountability remain human
Select staff, team members, or performers.
#22542 · Core · 35% automatable
Hold auditions for parts or negotiate contracts with actors determined suitable for specific roles.
interpersonal — Service negotiation needs live bargaining authority
Negotiate for services. Audition or interview potential performers or staff members.
#22543 · Core · 72% automatable
Select plays, scripts, books, news content, or ideas to be produced.
text generation — Content selection aided; audience judgment human
Determine presentation subjects or content.
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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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