Nurses, teachers and construction workers: which professions are least afraid of AI

Artificial intelligence is increasingly taking over routine tasks, changing the labor market and the demands on workers. At the same time, a number of professions remain significantly more resistant to automation — primarily those that require the physical presence of a person, empathy, communication and the ability to act quickly in non-standard situations.

This is evidenced by an analysis of data from the JobZone Risk platform and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), published by Visual Capitalist.

Nurses were the most protected from AI

The first place among the professions most resistant to the impact of artificial intelligence was taken by registered nurses. Their AI-resistance index is 82.2 points.

Home caregivers also received high positions — 72.7 points, elementary school teachers — 70 points and nursing assistants — 67.4 points.

Other relatively protected professions include:

Senior software engineers — 55.4 points;

maintenance and repair workers — 53.9;
construction workers — 53.2;
teacher assistants — 51.2.

Researchers attribute the sustainability of medical professions to the fact that a significant part of such work cannot be transferred exclusively to a digital environment. Medical workers need to physically interact with patients, assess their condition, provide care, and respond to situations that are difficult to predict in advance.

Why is it difficult for AI to replace teachers and workers

A similar situation is observed in education. Artificial intelligence is already able to help with the creation of educational materials, checking tasks, and explaining information. However, the work of a teacher involves not only the transfer of knowledge, but also constant interaction with children.

Labor specialties also remain relatively stable. Construction, repair, and maintenance often take place in changing physical conditions, where the worker has to adapt his actions directly on the spot.

Interestingly, senior software engineers also made the list. Despite the rapid development of generative AI and coding tools, complex tasks in IT still require architectural thinking, decision-making, and solving non-standard problems.

Which professions received lower scores

Professions where a significant part of the work is related to repetitive operations, information processing, documents, or standard processes turned out to be less resistant to automation.

In particular, accountants received 47.3 points, waiters – 46.3, cleaners and janitors – 44.2, and security guards – 43.6.

The scores of operational department managers were even lower – 37.5 points, truck drivers – 36, retail sales managers – 34.7, and loaders and logistics workers – 29.9.

One of the lowest scores in the ranking was for sales representatives in the wholesale and manufacturing sectors, with a score of 26.1.

Thus, the development of AI does not mean the same level of threat to all workers. The most resilient professions remain those where technology is not enough to simply process information quickly – physical presence, human interaction, responsibility and the ability to make decisions in unpredictable circumstances are required.