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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Public Safety Telecommunicators?
Task-level automation exposure for Public Safety Telecommunicators: 18 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
52%
weighted task index
18 of 18 tasks scored
Median Salary
$53,040 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
High
102,500 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+3.7%
employment change
9,000 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 52 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$26,620 – $80,120
Highest medians
California $80,120
Washington $78,850
Oregon $71,980
Alaska $66,660
Minnesota $66,550
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $26,620
Mississippi $34,510
Arkansas $38,240
Louisiana $38,550
Alabama $38,960
State figures come from the 43-5031 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 52%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 26%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 22%
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 70/100
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) 46%
8 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 32%
6 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 22%
4 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
#2719 · Core · 8% automatable
Provide emergency medical instructions to callers.
physical manipulation — Basic health care services require hands-on delivery
Provide basic health care services.
#2707 · Core · 50% automatable
Question callers to determine their locations and the nature of their problems to determine type of response needed.
interpersonal — Customer dialogue needs live presence and adaptation
Discuss goods or services information with customers or patrons.
#2705 · Core · 45% automatable
Determine response requirements and relative priorities of situations, and dispatch units in accordance with established procedures.
interpersonal — Operational coordination requires live human orchestration
Coordinate operational activities.
#2711 · Core · 72% automatable
Receive incoming telephone or alarm system calls regarding emergency and non-emergency police and fire service, emergency ambulance service, information, and after-hours calls for departments within a city.
interpersonal — Call routing automatable; nuanced calls need human
Answer telephones to direct calls or provide information.
#2710 · Core · 60% automatable
Relay information and messages to and from emergency sites, to law enforcement agencies, and to all other individuals or groups requiring notification.
interpersonal — Relaying information needs real-time human channel
Relay information between personnel.
#2706 · Core · 85% automatable
Record details of calls, dispatches, and messages.
data analysis — Maintain call records in structured systems
Maintain call records.
#2715 · Core · 30% automatable
Monitor various radio frequencies, such as those used by public works departments, school security, and civil defense, to stay apprised of developing situations.
physical manipulation — Operating comms hardware needs hands-on setup and tuning
Operate communications equipment or systems.
#2717 · Core · 64% automatable
Read and effectively interpret small-scale maps and information from a computer screen to determine locations and provide directions.
visual inspection — Diagram interpretation partial, human confirms installation
Interpret blueprints, specifications, or diagrams to inform installation, development or operation activities.
#2712 · Core · 8% automatable
Maintain access to, and security of, highly sensitive materials.
situated mobility — Physical security presence in world
Maintain security.
#2708 · Core · 85% automatable
Enter, update, and retrieve information from teletype networks and computerized data systems regarding such things as wanted persons, stolen property, vehicle registration, and stolen vehicles.
information retrieval — Search files and references for info
Search files, databases or reference materials to obtain needed information. Enter information into databases or software programs.
#2709 · Core · 39% automatable
Scan status charts and computer screens, and contact emergency response field units to determine emergency units available for dispatch.
interpersonal — Real-time coworker coordination is relational work
Operate communications equipment or systems. Confer with coworkers to coordinate work activities.
#2718 · Core · 71% automatable
Answer routine inquiries, and refer calls not requiring dispatches to appropriate departments and agencies.
interpersonal — Call routing automatable; nuanced calls need human
Answer telephones to direct calls or provide information. Refer customers to appropriate personnel.
#2716 · Core · 78% automatable
Learn material and pass required tests for certification.
information retrieval — AI curates updates; human maintains working knowledge
Maintain current knowledge related to work activities.
#2713 · Core · 55% automatable
Observe alarm registers and scan maps to determine whether a specific emergency is in the dispatch service area.
decision support — AI can triage alarms; human verifies and responds physically
Monitor alarm systems.
#2714 · Core · 85% automatable
Maintain files of information relating to emergency calls, such as personnel rosters and emergency call-out and pager files.
data analysis — Maintain call records in structured systems
Maintain call records.
#2721 · Core · 40% automatable
Test and adjust communication and alarm systems, and report malfunctions to maintenance units.
text generation — Reporting maintenance problems is routine messaging
Monitor equipment operation to ensure proper functioning. Adjust office equipment to ensure proper operation. Report maintenance or equipment problems to appropriate personnel.
#2722 · Supplemental · 5% automatable
Operate and maintain mobile dispatch vehicles and equipment.
physical manipulation — Hands-on vehicle and equipment operation
Operate vehicles or material-moving equipment.
#2720 · Supplemental · 55% automatable
Monitor alarm systems to detect emergencies, such as fires and illegal entry into establishments.
decision support — AI can triage alarms; human verifies and responds physically
Monitor alarm systems.
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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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