The jobs most vulnerable to AI — as new study predicts 9 million American workers to be displaced by bots in 5 years

The bots are coming for your livelihoods.

Researchers at Tufts University have put together the American AI Jobs Risk Index, a “first-of-its-kind” report, using current occupational data to predict which jobs are most at risk of being taken over by artificial intelligence.

And the findings are alarming: More than 9 million American jobs are “at risk of displacement in the next two to five years,” study authors suggest, calling out 33 “tipping point” occupations most vulnerable to AI takeover.

This means some $200 billion to $1.5 trillion in household incomes could be lost to bots.

Nearly 800 jobs were assigned an “exposure score,” ranking those most at risk — including computer programmers, web designers, financial planners, data scientists and, yes, authors and journalists.

Researchers have said that only the workers who manage to leverage AI to enhance their positions will survive.

“We already know that AI is not just automating routine tasks — it is moving up, targeting the cognitive and analytical work that defines high-skill, high-wage careers,” said Bhaskar Chakravorti, Tufts University dean of global business, in a statement. “The jobs of the future will be secured by those with a combination of subject-matter expertise, critical-thinking skills for human judgment, and knowledge of AI and how to use it.”

Perhaps ironically, the workers least likely to be lost to the bots are frequently some of the lowest paid, such as roofers, miners, machine operators, meat packers, welders and stonemasons.

“Physical, manual, and variable-condition work (roofers, orderlies, dishwashers) face less than one percent displacement,” the report read. “The occupations AI cannot touch are largely those the economy has always undervalued.”

Tufts researchers also incorporated geography into their report, noting that workers in urban hubs as well as university towns are some of the most threatened.

“Our index makes clear that the question is no longer whether AI will displace significant numbers of workers, but in which states and cities, how fast, and whether we are prepared by taking pre-emptive action,” said Chakravorti. “The geography of this disruption has real political consequences: the states and metros most at risk are already the most active in seeking AI regulation — and the federal government is telling them to stand down.”

“That collision will define the economic and political landscape of the next decade,” he added.

Top 10 most exposed AI jobs

1. Web and Digital Interface Designers
2. Web Developers
3. Database Architects
4. Computer Programmers
5. Data Scientists
6. Financial Risk Specialists
7. Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners
8. Information Security Analysts
9. Database Administrators
10. Medical Records Specialists

Top 10 least exposed AI jobs

1. Roof Bolters, Mining
2. Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
3. Orderlies
4. Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
5. Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators
6. Surgical Assistants
7. Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining
8. Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic
9. Massage Therapists
10. Slaughterers and Meat Packers