Will AI replace Foresters?
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 25 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 19-1032.00 · 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: 0 of its 25 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
None of its rated tasks.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 6 of its 25 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Choose and prepare sites for new trees, using controlled burning, bulldozers, or herbicides to clear weeds, brush, and logging debris.
- Direct, and participate in, forest fire suppression.
- Supervise activities of other forestry workers.
- Conduct public educational programs on forest care and conservation.
- Procure timber from private landowners.
- Subcontract with loggers or pulpwood cutters for tree removal and to aid in road layout.
What the job is
Manage public and private forested lands for economic, recreational, and conservation purposes. May inventory the type, amount, and location of standing timber, appraise the timber's worth, negotiate the purchase, and draw up contracts for procurement. May determine how to conserve wildlife habitats, creek beds, water quality, and soil stability, and how best to comply with environmental regulations. May devise plans for planting and growing new trees, monitor trees for healthy growth, and determine optimal harvesting schedules.
Also called: Area Forester, Silviculturist, Timber Sales Administrator (Timber Sales Admin), TMA, Timber Marker, Forest Manager, Urban Forester, Forest Examiner.
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