Will AI replace Computer Hardware Engineers?
Estimated risk score: 49 out of 100
Moderate 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 (30 to 68).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 18 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 17-2061.00 · Architecture and Engineering
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: 9 of its 18 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Store, retrieve, and manipulate data for analysis of system capabilities and requirements.
- Evaluate factors such as reporting formats required, cost constraints, and need for security restrictions to determine hardware configuration.
- Specify power supply requirements and configuration, drawing on system performance expectations and design specifications.
- Update knowledge and skills to keep up with rapid advancements in computer technology.
- Write detailed functional specifications that document the hardware development process and support hardware introduction.
- Confer with engineering staff and consult specifications to evaluate interface between hardware and software and operational and performance requirements of overall system.
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 18 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Direct technicians, engineering designers or other technical support personnel as needed.
- Assemble and modify existing pieces of equipment to meet special needs.
What the job is
Research, design, develop, or test computer or computer-related equipment for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use. May supervise the manufacturing and installation of computer or computer-related equipment and components.
Also called: Hardware Engineer, Staff Engineer, Computer Tester, Computer Designer, Hardware Architect, ASIC Design Engineer, Electronics Engineer, FPGA Design Engineer.
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