Will AI replace Atmospheric and Space Scientists?
Estimated risk score: 65 out of 100
High replacement risk
Estimate from published task research, not reviewed by a person · how we estimate
Within about 19 points for 4 in 5 of the jobs we checked (46 to 84).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 27 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 19-2021.00 · Life, Physical, and Social Science
Tasks rated in 2023 as ones AI could do or speed up
Tasks a GPT-4-class model could do, or do in half the time or less: 10 of its 27 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Develop computer programs to collect meteorological data or to present meteorological information.
- Develop or use mathematical or computer models for weather forecasting.
- Prepare scientific atmospheric or climate reports, articles, or texts.
- Analyze historical climate information, such as precipitation or temperature records, to help predict future weather or climate trends.
- Broadcast weather conditions, forecasts, or severe weather warnings to the public via television, radio, or the Internet or provide this information to the news media.
- Conduct numerical simulations of climate conditions to understand and predict global or regional weather patterns.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 2 of its 27 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Collect air samples from planes or ships over land or sea to study atmospheric composition.
- Measure wind, temperature, and humidity in the upper atmosphere, using weather balloons.
What the job is
Investigate atmospheric phenomena and interpret meteorological data, gathered by surface and air stations, satellites, and radar to prepare reports and forecasts for public and other uses. Includes weather analysts and forecasters whose functions require the detailed knowledge of meteorology.
Also called: Forecaster, Meteorologist, General Forecaster, Research Meteorologist, Tracker, Aerologist, Weatherman, Storm Chaser.
Source. This site includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. (O*NET, CC BY 4.0.) Task ratings: Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock (2023), “GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models”, data used under the MIT licence (licence texts). Our change: we averaged the ratings over this occupation’s tasks and calibrated them to our 0–100 scale. It is not a prediction about any one person and not career advice. Disagree? Write to hello@yourstopwashit.com. How we estimate