Will AI replace Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels?
Estimated risk score: 32 out of 100
Lower 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 (13 to 51).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 30 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 53-5021.00 · Transportation and Material Moving
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: 7 of its 30 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Maintain records of daily activities, personnel reports, ship positions and movements, ports of call, weather and sea conditions, pollution control efforts, or cargo or passenger status.
- Operate ship-to-shore radios to exchange information needed for ship operations.
- Calculate sightings of land, using electronic sounding devices and following contour lines on charts.
- Advise ships' masters on harbor rules and customs procedures.
- Learn to operate new technology systems and procedures through instruction, simulators, or models.
- Report to appropriate authorities any violations of federal or state pilotage laws.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 20 of its 30 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Dock or undock vessels, sometimes maneuvering through narrow spaces, such as locks.
- Maintain boats or equipment on board, such as engines, winches, navigational systems, fire extinguishers, or life preservers.
- Provide assistance in maritime rescue operations.
- Read gauges to verify sufficient levels of hydraulic fluid, air pressure, or oxygen.
- Signal crew members or deckhands to rig tow lines, open or close gates or ramps, or pull guard chains across entries.
- Supervise crews in cleaning or maintaining decks, superstructures, or bridges.
What the job is
Command or supervise operations of ships and water vessels, such as tugboats and ferryboats. Required to hold license issued by U.S. Coast Guard.
Also called: Mate, First Mate, Boat Captain, Bar Pilot, Boat Mate, Ship Mate, Barge Mate, Boat Pilot.
Closest jobs we score by hand
In the same field (Transportation and Material Moving). Different jobs, each scored by a person.
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