Will AI replace Private Detectives and Investigators?
Estimated risk score: 48 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 (29 to 67).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 17 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 33-9021.00 · Protective Service
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: 3 of its 17 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Write reports or case summaries to document investigations.
- Search computer databases, credit reports, public records, tax or legal filings, or other resources to locate persons or to compile information for investigations.
- Count cash and review transactions, sales checks, or register tapes to verify amounts or to identify shortages.
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 17 rated tasks; the first 3 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Confer with establishment officials, security departments, police, or postal officials to identify problems, provide information, or receive instructions.
- Testify at hearings or court trials to present evidence.
- Perform undercover operations, such as evaluating the performance or honesty of employees by posing as customers or employees.
What the job is
Gather, analyze, compile, and report information regarding individuals or organizations to clients, or detect occurrences of unlawful acts or infractions of rules in private establishment.
Also called: Private Investigator, Private Eye, Skip Tracer, Skip Locator, Bonding Agent, House Officer, House Detective, BSA Investigator.
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