Will AI replace Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters?
Estimated risk score: 18 out of 100
Very low 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 (0 to 37).
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 47-5032.00 · Construction and Extraction
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: 4 of its 30 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws.
- Maintain inventory levels, ordering new supplies as necessary.
- Set up and operate short-wave radio or field telephone equipment to transmit and receive blast information.
- Document geological formations encountered during work.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 25 of its 30 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with explosives.
- Connect electrical wire to primers, and cover charges or fill blast holes with clay, drill chips, sand, or other material.
- Cut specified lengths of primacord and attach primers to cord ends.
- Drive trucks to transport explosives and blasting equipment to blasting sites.
- Insert, pack, and pour explosives, such as dynamite, ammonium nitrate, black powder, or slurries into blast holes; then shovel drill cuttings, admit water into boreholes, and tamp material to compact charges.
- Lay primacord between rows of charged blast holes, and tie cord into main lines to form blast patterns.
What the job is
Place and detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials. May perform specialized handling, storage, and accounting procedures.
Also called: Explosive Technician, Robber, Shooter, Driftman, Shot Man, Dobie Man, Dynamiter, Nitro Man.
Closest jobs we score by hand
In the same field (Construction and Extraction). 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