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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Social Science Research Assistants?
Task-level automation exposure for Social Science Research Assistants: 22 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
61%
weighted task index
22 of 22 tasks scored
Median Salary
$61,990 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Medium
30,640 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+5.0%
employment change
4,900 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 45 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$26,560 – $69,090
Highest medians
Oklahoma $69,090
Delaware $68,230
Kansas $67,740
Georgia $66,620
Kentucky $66,390
Lowest medians
Nevada $26,560
Iowa $40,940
South Dakota $44,820
Minnesota $44,920
Tennessee $46,410
State figures come from the 19-4061 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 61%
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 40%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 29%
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 8/100
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
22 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) 60%
12 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 33%
8 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 8%
2 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 →Emerging & rewritten tasks
Tasks O*NET added or rewrote for this occupation in its recent updates (05/2025 – 08/2026), with who proposed them. Additions are not in the scored task inventory — they are new work O*NET is still measuring, so they appear here and nowhere in the index. A Revision replaces a task that is scored, which is why only those move the "Rewritten by O*NET" share.
- New 08/2019 · Incumbent
Write grant proposals.
Constituent Tasks
#12963 · Core · 62% automatable
Design and create special programs for tasks such as statistical analysis and data entry and cleaning.
text generation — Scientific code drafted; domain validation by humans
Develop software or applications for scientific or technical use.
#12953 · Core · 72% automatable
Provide assistance with the preparation of project-related reports, manuscripts, and presentations.
text generation — Reports drafted; presentations need human delivery
Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.
#12957 · Core · 72% automatable
Prepare tables, graphs, fact sheets, and written reports summarizing research results.
text generation — Reports drafted; presentations need human delivery
Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.
#12955 · Core · 45% automatable
Perform descriptive and multivariate statistical analyses of data, using computer software.
data analysis — Analysis aided; study design and fieldwork human
Conduct research on social issues.
#12956 · Core · 87% automatable
Verify the accuracy and validity of data entered in databases, correcting any errors.
data analysis — Detecting recording errors is deterministic pattern matching
Verify accuracy of data. Check data for recording errors.
#12959 · Core · 52% automatable
Develop and implement research quality control procedures.
decision support — Social research plans drafted; rigor human-owned
Plan social sciences research.
#12952 · Core · 65% automatable
Prepare, manipulate, and manage extensive databases.
text generation — Technical DB design drafted; domain validation human
Develop technical or scientific databases.
#12962 · Core · 82% automatable
Perform data entry and other clerical work as required for project completion.
data analysis — Record research or operational data into schemas
Record research or operational data.
#12960 · Core · 78% automatable
Conduct internet-based and library research.
information retrieval — Collect archival data from sources
Collect archival data.
#12961 · Core · 72% automatable
Present research findings to groups of people.
text generation — Reports drafted; presentations need human delivery
Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.
#12954 · Supplemental · 30% automatable
Obtain informed consent of research subjects or their guardians.
interpersonal — Observation and interviews are inherently human
Collect information from people through observation, interviews, or surveys.
#12967 · Supplemental · 35% automatable
Administer standardized tests to research subjects, or interview them to collect research data.
interpersonal — Proctoring and standardized administration need human presence
Collect information from people through observation, interviews, or surveys. Administer standardized physical or psychological tests.
#12968 · Supplemental · 68% automatable
Recruit and schedule research participants.
decision support — Calendar scheduling automatable; exceptions need human judgment
Schedule appointments. Recruit personnel.
#12966 · Supplemental · 42% automatable
Screen potential subjects to determine their suitability as study participants.
interpersonal — Live interview judgment and rapport; AI can only screen
Conduct eligibility or selection interviews.
#12969 · Supplemental · 82% automatable
Track research participants, and perform any necessary follow-up tasks.
data analysis — Record research or operational data into schemas
Record research or operational data.
#12958 · Supplemental · 70% automatable
Edit and submit protocols and other required research documentation.
text generation — Draft legal/regulatory docs; human verifies
Prepare information or documentation related to legal or regulatory matters.
#12964 · Supplemental · 83% automatable
Code data in preparation for computer entry.
data analysis — Data preparation for analysis automatable
Prepare data for analysis. Code data or other information.
#12972 · Supplemental · 40% automatable
Track laboratory supplies and expenses such as participant reimbursement.
decision support — Resource management aided by AI but human accountable
Manage scientific or technical project resources.
#12965 · Supplemental · 55% automatable
Provide assistance in the design of survey instruments such as questionnaires.
decision support — Methods drafted; methodological rigor human
Develop methods of social or economic research.
#12971 · Supplemental · 32% automatable
Supervise the work of survey interviewers.
interpersonal — Technical supervision requires judgment and accountability
Supervise scientific or technical personnel.
#12973 · Supplemental · 50% automatable
Perform needs assessments or consult with clients to determine the types of research and information required.
interpersonal — Client information exchange is live relational work
Confer with clients to exchange information.
#12970 · Supplemental · 40% automatable
Allocate and manage laboratory space and resources.
decision support — Resource management aided by AI but human accountable
Manage scientific or technical project resources.
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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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