Will AI replace Robotics Engineers?
Estimated risk score: 50 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 (31 to 69).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 24 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 17-2199.08 · 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: 10 of its 24 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Create back-ups of robot programs or parameters.
- Debug robotics programs.
- Document robotic application development, maintenance, or changes.
- Make system device lists or event timing charts.
- Write algorithms or programming code for ad hoc robotic applications.
- Process or interpret signals or sensor data.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 5 of its 24 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Integrate robotics with peripherals, such as welders, controllers, or other equipment.
- Build, configure, or test robots or robotic applications.
- Install, calibrate, operate, or maintain robots.
- Investigate mechanical failures or unexpected maintenance problems.
- Supervise technologists, technicians, or other engineers.
What the job is
Research, design, develop, or test robotic applications.
Also called: Factory Automations Engineer, Autonomous Vehicle Design Engineer, RPA Engineer, Robot Operator, Autonomy Engineer, Robotics Specialist, Robotic Systems Engineer, Robotics Controls 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