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A new study from the Pew Research Center predicts that women, Asians, and higher-skilled, higher-paying jobs will be most affected by the AI shift.

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According to the study, 19 percent of Americans in 2022 had jobs with high AI exposure, where their primary tasks could be replaced or augmented by AI. This compares to 23 percent with low exposure. The remaining roughly 60 percent of jobs were a mix of the two.

The analysis is based on data on the importance of 41 key occupations in 873 occupations from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Information Network (O*NET, version 27.3). These occupations were classified by the Pew research team as having low, medium, or high exposure to AI.

Jobs with AI exposure in the top 25 percent of "high exposure" occupations were classified as most exposed. Jobs with AI exposure in the top 25 percent of "low exposure" occupations were classified as least exposed.

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OpenAI took a similar approach in its study on the impact of LLMs with tools on the labor market, published in March, and found similar results.

AI shift more likely to affect college graduates

The jobs most affected by the AI shift are often higher-paying jobs that require more analytical thinking, for which a college degree can be an asset, according to the study.

Those with at least a bachelor's degree are also more than twice as likely to be augmented or replaced by AI than those without a college degree, according to the study (27 percent versus 12 percent).

The study cites jobs such as analyst, tax professional, technical writer, web developer or business manager as examples of high and medium exposure. Veterinarians, salespeople and interior designers are also affected. Traditional occupations such as barber or firefighter would have low exposure.

Berufe in den USA, die voraussichtlich stark, mittel oder wenig von KI betroffen sein werden.
Occupations in the U.S. that are expected to be heavily, moderately or little affected by AI. | Image: Pew Research

The fact that women and Asians are particularly affected by the AI shift in their jobs is due to the typical occupations of these demographics. A recent study by McKinsey came to a similar conclusion: by 2030, women will be 1.5 times more likely than men to be forced to change jobs due to AI.

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High AI exposure does not automatically mean job loss

Whether AI will actually lead to fewer jobs is still unclear, the Pew research team writes. Technology can both replace and augment humans. In the research context, therefore, higher AI exposure does not automatically mean that jobs will disappear. It just shows that AI will play an important role.

AI could also create new jobs for highly skilled professionals, just as the Internet created web developers. In addition, AI could help the economy as a whole become more productive and create more jobs.

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Summary
  • A study by the Pew Research Center shows that women, Asians, and higher-skilled jobs will be most affected by the AI shift, with 19% of American jobs having high AI exposure in 2022.
  • College graduates are more likely to have jobs that can be augmented or replaced by AI, with examples including analysts, tax professionals, technical writers, web developers, and business managers.
  • The study notes that higher AI exposure does not necessarily correlate with job loss, as AI could both replace and augment human tasks, create new jobs for skilled professionals, and increase overall productivity.
Sources
Online journalist Matthias is the co-founder and publisher of THE DECODER. He believes that artificial intelligence will fundamentally change the relationship between humans and computers.
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