Will AI replace Industrial Ecologists?
Estimated risk score: 56 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 (37 to 75).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 38 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 19-2041.03 · 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: 7 of its 38 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Create complex and dynamic mathematical models of population, community, or ecological systems.
- Build and maintain databases of information about energy alternatives, pollutants, natural environments, industrial processes, and other information related to ecological change.
- Forecast future status or condition of ecosystems, based on changing industrial practices or environmental conditions.
- Perform environmentally extended input-output (EE I-O) analyses.
- Review research literature to maintain knowledge on topics related to industrial ecology, such as physical science, technology, economy, and public policy.
- Provide industrial managers with technical materials on environmental issues, regulatory guidelines, or compliance actions.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 0 of its 38 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
None of its rated tasks.
What the job is
Apply principles and processes of natural ecosystems to develop models for efficient industrial systems. Use knowledge from the physical and social sciences to maximize effective use of natural resources in the production and use of goods and services. Examine societal issues and their relationship with both technical systems and the environment.
Also called: Ecologist, Environmental Protection Agency Counselor, Ecological Professional, SFA Compliance Specialist, Natural Resources Engineer, Product Life Cycle Planner, Sustainable Systems Analyst, Life Cycle Assessment Analyst.
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