AI & Labor Market Disruption

Which work is exposed to AI, and which programs feed into it?

The AI Exposure Index scores 772 occupations and 1,786 academic programs across three dimensions: digital intensity, human interaction, and physical work. Built from O*NET work characteristics and BLS employment data.

Browse the index by occupation, by academic program, or read how the scores are constructed.

Explore the index
772
occupations scored, covering 122.6 million workers in the U.S. labor force
BLS OES, O*NET 28.3
1,786
academic programs scored through the CIP-to-SOC crosswalk
NCES CIP 2020, BLS-NCES crosswalk
3
dimensions: digital intensity, human interaction shield, physical anchor
Composite from nine O*NET variables
9
underlying O*NET work characteristics, weighted by BLS employment
Reproducible composite formula

Explore the index

Each view shares the same three-dimensional scoring. Choose where to start: an occupation you know, an academic program you advise into, or the methodology behind the scores.

By Occupation

Occupation AI Exposure Index

772 SOC occupations, 122.6 million workers. See which roles score high or low on each dimension and how they compare across the labor market.
By Academic Program

Program AI Exposure Index

1,786 CIP academic programs scored through the BLS-NCES crosswalk. See which fields of study feed into AI-exposed work.
How it works

Methodology

The nine O*NET variables, the three composite dimensions, the CIP-SOC crosswalk logic, BLS employment weighting, and the limits of the approach.

The three dimensions

Most "AI exposure" measures collapse to a single number. This index keeps three dimensions visible, because the same job can be highly digital and also heavily human-facing, and that combination matters for what AI can and cannot do.

Digital intensity

How much of the work happens through computers, structured data, and digital tools. Higher scores mean more of the task surface is reachable by software.

Human interaction shield

How much the role depends on real-time interaction with other people: care, persuasion, coordination, judgment in social context. Higher scores mean a stronger buffer against pure automation.

Physical anchor

How much the work is tied to physical objects, places, and bodies. Higher scores mean the work resists software-only substitution because something has to happen in the world.


Why this exists

Being grounded in data is essential. In a labor market changing this fast, the decisions institutions, workforce boards, policymakers, and individuals make today carry long horizons. A program built, a training investment funded, a credential pursued: each plays out over years, into work that may not look the way the data describes it now.

The AI Exposure Index is a structured way to look ahead. It scores where work sits along three measurable dimensions, built from public O*NET data and weighted by BLS employment counts, so program decisions made today can be informed by where the work is heading rather than only where it has been.

The goal is not to predict which jobs disappear. It is to give institutions, advisors, and policymakers a frame for asking which programs prepare students for work that will keep its shape, which programs feed into work being reshaped, and where the answer depends on which dimension you weigh most.

For the full construction, including variable selection, weighting, and limitations, see the methodology.


Get in touch

Questions about the index, interested in collaborating, or have feedback? Send a message.