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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Transportation Security Screeners?
Task-level automation exposure for Transportation Security Screeners: 26 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
37%
weighted task index
26 of 26 tasks scored
Median Salary
$66,770 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Medium
50,290 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
-4.2%
employment change
4,500 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 48 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$51,210 – $76,130
Highest medians
New Hampshire $76,130
New Jersey $74,400
California $73,610
Massachusetts $73,510
Maryland $72,240
Lowest medians
Missouri $51,210
Montana $54,770
North Dakota $54,950
South Dakota $55,530
Wyoming $61,110
State figures come from the 33-9093 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 37%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 18%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 13%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 4%
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 52/100
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
26 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) 23%
6 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 32%
9 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 45%
11 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
#15341 · Core · 20% automatable
Inspect carry-on items, using x-ray viewing equipment, to determine whether items contain objects that warrant further investigation.
visual inspection — Cargo hazard inspection requires on-site presence
Inspect cargo to identify potential hazards.
#15348 · Core · 20% automatable
Search carry-on or checked baggage by hand when it is suspected to contain prohibited items such as weapons.
visual inspection — Cargo hazard inspection requires on-site presence
Inspect cargo to identify potential hazards.
#15332 · Core · 72% automatable
Check passengers' tickets to ensure that they are valid, and to determine whether passengers have designations that require special handling, such as providing photo identification.
visual inspection — Document validity check aided, human verifies authenticity
Examine personal documentation to ensure that it is valid.
#15350 · Core · 20% automatable
Test baggage for any explosive materials, using equipment such as explosive detection machines or chemical swab systems.
visual inspection — Cargo hazard inspection requires on-site presence
Inspect cargo to identify potential hazards.
#15346 · Core · 5% automatable
Perform pat-down or hand-held wand searches of passengers who have triggered machine alarms, who are unable to pass through metal detectors, or who have been randomly identified for such searches.
physical manipulation — Physical pat-down searching of individuals
Search individuals for illegal or dangerous items.
#15345 · Core · 60% automatable
Notify supervisors or other appropriate personnel when security breaches occur.
text generation — Relaying situation details is structured communication
Communicate situation details to appropriate personnel.
#15349 · Core · 20% automatable
Send checked baggage through automated screening machines, and set bags aside for searching or rescreening as indicated by equipment.
visual inspection — Cargo hazard inspection requires on-site presence
Inspect cargo to identify potential hazards.
#15337 · Core · 55% automatable
Decide whether baggage that triggers alarms should be searched or should be allowed to pass through.
decision support — Procedures drafted; human validates feasibility
Determine operational procedures.
#15354 · Core · 38% automatable
Follow those who breach security until police or other security personnel arrive to apprehend them.
situated mobility — Live monitoring of people in physical settings
Monitor activities of individuals to ensure safety or compliance with rules.
#15339 · Core · 60% automatable
Inform other screeners when baggage should not be opened because it might contain explosives.
text generation — Relaying situation details is structured communication
Communicate situation details to appropriate personnel.
#15342 · Core · 20% automatable
Inspect checked baggage for signs of tampering.
visual inspection — Cargo hazard inspection requires on-site presence
Inspect cargo to identify potential hazards.
#15331 · Core · 60% automatable
Ask passengers to remove shoes and divest themselves of metal objects prior to walking through metal detectors.
text generation — Safety messaging can be drafted; delivery is human
Communicate safety or hazard information to others.
#15333 · Core · 6% automatable
Close entry areas following security breaches or reopen areas after receiving notification that the airport is secure.
physical manipulation — Physically blocking access to areas
Block physical access to restricted areas.
#15353 · Core · 41% automatable
Challenge suspicious people, requesting their badges and asking what their business is in a particular areas.
visual inspection — Document validity check aided, human verifies authenticity
Examine personal documentation to ensure that it is valid. Prevent unauthorized individuals from entering restricted areas.
#15355 · Core · 15% automatable
Patrol work areas to detect any suspicious items.
situated mobility — Patrolling properties is embodied mobile work
Patrol properties to maintain safety.
#15336 · Core · 55% automatable
Contact police directly in cases of urgent security issues, using phones or two-way radios.
interpersonal — Emergency request requires live accountable action
Request emergency personnel.
#15347 · Core · 60% automatable
Record information about any baggage that sets off alarms in monitoring equipment.
text generation — Recording suspicious objects; human observes and verifies
Record information about suspicious objects.
#15352 · Core · 35% automatable
Watch for potentially dangerous persons whose pictures are posted at checkpoints.
visual inspection — AI can watch camera feeds; human maintains physical surveillance
Maintain surveillance of individuals or establishments.
#15335 · Core · 60% automatable
Contact leads or supervisors to discuss objects of concern that are not on prohibited object lists.
text generation — Relaying situation details is structured communication
Communicate situation details to appropriate personnel.
#15334 · Core · 5% automatable
Confiscate dangerous items and hazardous materials found in opened bags and turn them over to airlines for disposal.
physical manipulation — Physically confiscating items from people
Confiscate prohibited or dangerous items.
#15344 · Core · 35% automatable
Monitor passenger flow through screening checkpoints to ensure order and efficiency.
situated mobility — Managing physical flow of people needs on-site presence
Monitor access or flow of people to prevent problems.
#15340 · Core · 30% automatable
Inform passengers of how to mail prohibited items to themselves, or confiscate these items.
interpersonal — Public communication needs accountability and audience trust
Confiscate prohibited or dangerous items. Inform the public about policies, services or procedures.
#15356 · Core · 55% automatable
Provide directions and respond to passenger inquiries.
information retrieval — Public info provision partly automatable; accountability human
Provide information to the general public.
#15338 · Core · 55% automatable
Direct passengers to areas where they can pick up their baggage after screening is complete.
information retrieval — Public info provision partly automatable; accountability human
Provide information to the general public.
#15351 · Supplemental · 40% automatable
View images of checked bags and cargo, using remote screening equipment, and alert baggage screeners or handlers to any possible problems.
text generation — Relaying situation details is structured communication
Inspect cargo to identify potential hazards. Communicate situation details to appropriate personnel.
#15343 · Supplemental · 25% automatable
Locate suspicious bags pictured in printouts sent from remote monitoring areas, and set these bags aside for inspection.
visual inspection — Spotting suspicious objects needs physical visual search
Locate suspicious objects or vehicles.
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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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