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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Radiologists?
Task-level automation exposure for Radiologists: 30 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
30 of 30 tasks scored
Median Salary
$420,860 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Medium
26,770 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+3.4%
employment change
700 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.
$75,600 – $708,340
Highest medians
Minnesota $708,340
South Dakota $586,010
Maryland $581,510
Maine $555,750
North Dakota $553,140
Lowest medians
Arkansas $75,600
New Mexico $96,170
Wyoming $161,750
South Carolina $174,480
Kansas $179,990
State figures come from the 29-1224 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 7%
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 12%
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 55/100
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
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) 18%
5 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 54%
16 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 28%
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
#17242 · Core · 68% automatable
Prepare comprehensive interpretive reports of findings.
text generation — Summarize diagnostic and care activities into reports
Prepare reports summarizing patient diagnostic or care activities.
#17254 · Core · 39% automatable
Perform or interpret the outcomes of diagnostic imaging procedures including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computer tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), nuclear cardiology treadmill studies, mammography, or ultrasound.
visual inspection — Image interpretation assists; radiologist owns diagnosis
Analyze test data or images to inform diagnosis or treatment. Operate diagnostic imaging equipment.
#17248 · Core · 62% automatable
Document the performance, interpretation, or outcomes of all procedures performed.
interpersonal — Patient history requires live elicitation and judgment
Record patient medical histories.
#17252 · Core · 49% automatable
Communicate examination results or diagnostic information to referring physicians, patients, or families.
information retrieval — Relaying results is structured; interpretation stays human
Communicate detailed medical information to patients or family members. Communicate test or assessment results to medical professionals.
#17243 · Core · 43% automatable
Obtain patients' histories from electronic records, patient interviews, dictated reports, or by communicating with referring clinicians.
information retrieval — History extraction aided; patient interaction human
Gather medical information from patient histories. Collect medical information from patients, family members, or other medical professionals.
#17239 · Core · 67% automatable
Review or transmit images and information using picture archiving or communications systems.
text generation — Sending digital materials automatable; physical mailing human
Analyze test data or images to inform diagnosis or treatment. Send information, materials or documentation.
#17245 · Core · 45% automatable
Confer with medical professionals regarding image-based diagnoses.
interpersonal — Clinical handoff carries accountability and nuance
Inform medical professionals regarding patient conditions and care.
#17241 · Core · 30% automatable
Recognize or treat complications during and after procedures, including blood pressure problems, pain, oversedation, or bleeding.
decision support — Post-surgical monitoring is hands-on clinical observation
Monitor patients following surgeries or other treatments.
#17249 · Core · 50% automatable
Develop or monitor procedures to ensure adequate quality control of images.
decision support — Procedure drafts aided; clinical safety accountability human
Develop healthcare quality and safety procedures.
#17251 · Core · 40% automatable
Provide counseling to radiologic patients to explain the processes, risks, benefits, or alternative treatments.
interpersonal — Results delivery needs empathy and clinical judgment
Explain medical procedures or test results to patients or family members.
#17236 · Core · 39% automatable
Establish or enforce standards for protection of patients or personnel.
decision support — AI reviews records but physical verification and accountability human
Verify that medical activities or operations meet standards. Determine protocols for medical procedures.
#17250 · Core · 40% automatable
Coordinate radiological services with other medical activities.
interpersonal — Treatment planning collaboration is accountable clinical work
Collaborate with healthcare professionals to plan or provide treatment.
#17246 · Core · 30% automatable
Instruct radiologic staff in desired techniques, positions, or projections.
interpersonal — Provider training is clinical, hands-on, accountable
Train medical providers.
#17234 · Core · 75% automatable
Participate in continuing education activities to maintain and develop expertise.
information retrieval — AI summarizes medical updates; human retains judgment
Maintain medical or professional knowledge.
#17231 · Core · 50% automatable
Participate in quality improvement activities including discussions of areas where risk of error is high.
decision support — Procedure drafts aided; clinical safety accountability human
Develop healthcare quality and safety procedures.
#17253 · Supplemental · 2% automatable
Perform interventional procedures such as image-guided biopsy, percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, transhepatic biliary drainage, or nephrostomy catheter placement.
physical manipulation — Surgery is physical and high-accountability
Operate on patients to treat conditions.
#17235 · Supplemental · 38% automatable
Develop treatment plans for radiology patients.
decision support — Medical plans need exam, liability, and clinical judgment
Develop medical treatment plans.
#22732 · Core · 5% automatable
Administer radioisotopes to clinical patients or research subjects.
physical manipulation — Administering imaging substances is hands-on clinical procedure
Administer medical substances for imaging or other procedures.
#22733 · Core · 50% automatable
Advise other physicians of the clinical indications, limitations, assessments, or risks of diagnostic and therapeutic applications of radioactive materials.
decision support — Clinical advice needs licensed accountability and context
Advise medical personnel regarding healthcare issues.
#22734 · Core · 49% automatable
Calculate, measure, or prepare radioisotope dosages.
data analysis — Routine medical calculations; human checks inputs
Calculate numerical data for medical activities. Prepare medications or medical solutions.
#22735 · Core · 55% automatable
Check and approve the quality of diagnostic images before patients are discharged.
visual inspection — Image quality check aided, radiologist verifies findings
Check quality of diagnostic images.
#22736 · Core · 55% automatable
Compare nuclear medicine procedures with other types of procedures, such as computed tomography, ultrasonography, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, and angiography.
decision support — Treatment guidance aided; clinical accountability human
Evaluate treatment options to guide medical decisions.
#22737 · Core · 25% automatable
Direct nuclear medicine technologists or technicians regarding desired dosages, techniques, positions, and projections.
interpersonal — Patient care supervision is live clinical leadership
Supervise patient care personnel.
#22738 · Core · 39% automatable
Establish and enforce radiation protection standards for patients and staff.
decision support — AI reviews records but physical verification and accountability human
Verify that medical activities or operations meet standards. Determine protocols for medical procedures.
#22739 · Core · 35% automatable
Formulate plans and procedures for nuclear medicine departments.
interpersonal — Healthcare operations accountability and staffing are human
Manage healthcare operations.
#22740 · Core · 30% automatable
Monitor handling of radioactive materials to ensure that established procedures are followed.
visual inspection — Hazardous waste handling oversight is physical and safety-critical
Monitor the handling of hazardous materials or medical wastes.
#22741 · Core · 22% automatable
Prescribe radionuclides and dosages to be administered to individual patients.
decision support — Prescribing medications is licensed high-stakes judgment
Prescribe medications.
#22742 · Core · 80% automatable
Review procedure requests and patients' medical histories to determine applicability of procedures and radioisotopes to be used.
data analysis — Patient info verification against records, human confirms
Verify accuracy of patient information.
#22743 · Core · 30% automatable
Teach nuclear medicine, diagnostic radiology, or other specialties at graduate educational level.
interpersonal — Provider training is clinical, hands-on, accountable
Train medical providers.
#22744 · Core · 20% automatable
Test dosage evaluation instruments and survey meters to ensure they are operating properly.
visual inspection — Hands-on examination of medical instruments
Examine medical instruments or equipment to ensure proper operation.
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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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