AI Job Risk · REFERENCE
AI Job Risk Index
Which roles are most exposed to AI automation — and which are protected
What Is the AI Job Risk Index?
The AI Job Risk Index ranks professional roles by their exposure to AI automation. Exposure is determined not by job title, but by task composition — the specific activities that fill a person’s workday.
Roles built around repetitive information processing, reporting, and tool operation are highly exposed. Roles built around judgment, escalation, trade-off management, and stakeholder accountability are protected.
How Exposure Is Measured
| Factor | Weight | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Task repetitiveness | 30% | How much of the role involves repeatable, rules-based work |
| Judgment requirement | 25% | Whether decisions require context, trade-offs, or accountability |
| Information vs. decision work | 20% | Ratio of information processing to decision-making |
| Stakeholder dependency | 15% | Whether the role requires managing humans, not just data |
| Tool dependency | 10% | Whether the role exists only because of a specific tool |
Risk Levels
| Level | Score | Description |
|---|---|---|
| High exposure | 70-100 | Most tasks can be automated within 2-3 years |
| Moderate exposure | 40-69 | Some tasks automated, role will transform significantly |
| Low exposure | 0-39 | Core value comes from judgment, context, and accountability |
Role Exposure Examples
| Role | Exposure | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Data entry specialist | 95 | Entirely repetitive information processing |
| Report builder | 85 | Summarizing data into standard formats |
| Junior analyst | 75 | Pulling data, building charts, answering predefined questions |
| Project coordinator | 65 | Scheduling, status tracking, routing information |
| Senior analyst | 45 | Some judgment work, but still tool-dependent |
| Operations manager | 30 | Owns escalation, trade-offs, stakeholder management |
| Risk director | 20 | Owns decisions under uncertainty, accountability |
What Makes a Role Protected
Protected roles share these characteristics:
- Decision ownership — they decide, not just inform
- Escalation authority — they can stop, redirect, or accelerate
- Context dependency — their value comes from understanding situations, not processing data
- Accountability — they own outcomes, not outputs
- Ambiguity tolerance — they operate where rules don’t exist yet
What Makes a Role Exposed
Exposed roles share these characteristics:
- Built around a single tool or platform
- Value comes from speed of execution, not quality of judgment
- Output is standardized and repeatable
- No decision authority — they inform, they don’t decide
- Could be described as “human middleware” between systems
How to Use This Index
- List your daily tasks for one week
- Categorize each task: information processing, decision-making, stakeholder management, or tool operation
- Calculate the ratio — if >60% is information processing or tool operation, you’re exposed
- Identify which tasks require judgment that AI cannot replicate
- Build your career around those judgment tasks
Related Tools
- AI Job Risk Analyzer — Get a personalized risk assessment for your specific role
- Future-Proof Skills Assessment — Evaluate which skills protect you