Here Are the 10 Jobs AI Is Most Likely to Automate, According to a Microsoft Study These careers are most likely to be affected by generative AI, based on data from 200,000 conversations with Microsoft's Copilot chatbot.
By Sherin Shibu Edited by Melissa Malamut
Key Takeaways
- A new Microsoft study determines how well AI performs different activities.
- AI was found to be the most useful for interpreting and translating.
- AI was least likely to be useful to professions like nursing assistants, who work with patients in person.
AI has a high chance of changing many professions, according to a new Microsoft report.
Microsoft researchers analyzed an anonymous dataset consisting of 200,000 conversations between U.S. users and its Copilot chatbot during nine months of last year and published the resulting study last week. They aimed to understand how users are already using AI, based on queries to the chatbot.
The report found that the jobs with the greatest applicability to AI were interpreters and translators. AI has been found to work well for translation, and several applications are currently on the market, including popular options from Google (creates translated AI voiceovers) and Amazon (translates 164 languages in real-time).
The next most likely to be altered by AI was a historian. The researchers noted that gathering information, including about history, was one of the most successfully completed tasks by AI. Copilot users tasked the chatbot with prompts about researching historical or social issues and examining materials for accuracy.
Also on the list were CNC (Computer Numerical Control) programmers, who create and develop the code that tells CNC machines to cut, drill, or mill materials. AI is automating CNC programming, producing faster production times with reduced waste.
"Our research shows that AI supports many tasks, particularly those involving research, writing, and communication, but does not indicate it can fully perform any single occupation," Microsoft senior researcher Kiran Tomlinson told Entrepreneur in an emailed statement. "As AI adoption accelerates, it's important that we continue to study and better understand its societal and economic impact."
Tomlinson also emphasized that the study highlights "where AI might change how work is done."
Meanwhile, the study also identified where AI is barely being used. Two professions that fell under this category were nursing assistants and massage therapists, which made it on the list because they require working with people in person. Other professions were AI-proof because they required operating or monitoring machinery, like truck and tractor operators, or manual labor, like dishwashers and roofers.
Copilot allows users to provide thumbs-up and thumbs-down feedback for each of its responses. Based on this feedback, the researchers calculated an AI applicability score, which measured how well different work activities are performed or supported by AI. The more thumbs-up feedback a response receives, the higher the user satisfaction and the greater the likelihood that AI could take over that task. The sourced employment numbers are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Here's a list of the top 10 professions most likely to be impacted by AI, based on the overlap between their duties and what AI can currently do.
1. Interpreters and translators
AI Applicability Score: 0.49
Employment: 51,560
2. Historians
AI Applicability Score: 0.48
Employment: 3,040
3. Passenger attendants
AI Applicability Score: 0.47
Employment: 20,190
4. Sales representatives
AI Applicability Score: 0.46
Employment: 1,142,020
5. Writers and authors
AI Applicability Score: 0.45
Employment: 49,450
6. Customer service representatives
AI Applicability Score: 0.44
Employment: 2,858,710
7. CNC tool programmers
AI Applicability Score: 0.44
Employment: 28,030
8. Telephone operators
AI Applicability Score: 0.42
Employment: 4,600
9. Ticket agents and travel clerks
AI Applicability Score: 0.41
Employment: 119,270
10. Broadcast announcers and radio DJs
AI Applicability Score: 0.41
Employment: 25,070
For a full list, check out the study here.
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