Will biology professors be replaced by AI?
Updated
Biology professors score 48 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 48%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 15% outright, and 37% stays with people.
- 15% AI can do it
- 48% AI helps
- 37% Needs a person
Moderate exposure
Higher than 70% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 27 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 4 of them today, speeds up 12 and leaves 11 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records. Records and grade entry are routine data work. | 80% AI can do it |
| Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments. AI searches and formats references quickly; human checks accuracy. | 80% AI can do it |
| Prepare materials for laboratory activities and course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts. AI drafts syllabi, handouts and assignments quickly. | 70% AI can do it |
| Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others. AI drafts and grades exams; proctoring stays human. | 60% AI can do it |
| Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory work, assignments, and papers. AI drafts feedback and scores written work; instructor reviews. | 58% AI helps |
| Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction. AI can draft syllabus and course revisions; faculty decide. | 50% AI helps |
| Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences. AI summarizes papers and tracks literature; reading judgment stays human. | 50% AI helps |
| Write grant proposals to procure external research funding. AI drafts proposal sections; funding strategy stays with the PI. | 50% AI helps |
| Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as molecular biology, marine biology, and botany. AI helps build lecture outlines and slides; delivery stays live. | 45% AI helps |
| Review papers for publication in journals. AI can screen manuscripts; expert peer judgment remains essential. | 40% AI helps |
Show the other 17 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media. AI aids literature review and writing; bench research stays physical. | 35% AI helps |
| Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks and laboratory equipment. Ordering supplies is partly digital but needs lab coordination. | 35% AI helps |
| Assist students who need extra help with their coursework outside of class. AI tutors can answer routine questions; personal help stays human. | 30% AI helps |
| Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities. Recruitment and placement are mostly personal outreach and admin. | 30% AI helps |
| Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues. Career advice relies on personal rapport and individual context. | 25% AI helps |
| Provide professional consulting services to government or industry. Expert consulting is live advice; AI supports research and drafting. | 25% AI helps |
| Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work. Mentoring and supervising research needs personal judgment and presence. | 18% Needs a person |
| Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head. Leadership and administration depend on people and institutional decisions. | 18% Needs a person |
| Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions. Live discussion moderation needs in-room human presence. | 12% Needs a person |
| Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students. Office hours are live, personal interactions with students. | 12% Needs a person |
| Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues. Collegial collaboration relies on human relationships and negotiation. | 12% Needs a person |
| Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues. Committee deliberation needs human judgment and institutional context. | 12% Needs a person |
| Participate in campus and community events, such as giving presentations to the public. Public presentations are in-person; AI helps only with slides. | 12% Needs a person |
| Act as advisers to student organizations. Student organization advising is in-person and relational. | 10% Needs a person |
| Supervise students' laboratory work. Hands-on lab supervision requires physical presence and safety oversight. | 8% Needs a person |
| Provide students course-related experiences, such as field trips, outside the classroom. Field trips are physical, on-site experiences led by people. | 5% Needs a person |
| Maintain or repair lab equipment. Equipment repair needs hands-on work with physical instruments. | 5% Needs a person |
How biology professors compare
All occupations (923)
Educational instruction and library (62)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $84,620 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 50,190 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +7.3% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Run student grade and attendance audits in your LMS
- Teach hands-on lab sessions with live specimens and equipment
- Analyze class and research data in SPSS, SAS or MATLAB
- Lead live seminar discussions and in-person office hours
- Design lab courses and field trips with safety oversight
- Maintain lab equipment such as microscopes and spectrophotometers
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about biology professors and AI
Will AI replace biology professors?
Partly. About 3 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly grade entry and attendance records plus preparing course materials. Lab supervision, classroom discussion and office hours stay with people because they need a person physically present.
Which tasks will AI take from biology professors?
Record keeping and bibliography work score 80 on exposure, the highest in this job. AI enters grades, totals attendance and searches and formats references in seconds. A person still checks the accuracy of the references and the final records before they count.
Which tasks stay with biology professors?
Lab supervision scores 8 on exposure, field trips score 5, and office hours score 12. Each one needs a person in the room to watch technique, manage safety, and talk with a student face to face. Those hours grow in value as routine paperwork shrinks.
How can biology professors stay valuable as AI changes the job?
Spend more hours on lab supervision, equipment repair and office hours, which score 5 to 12 on exposure. Use AI to draft syllabi and exams, then review each draft yourself in Word or Google Docs. Analyze class and research data in SPSS, SAS or MATLAB.
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