Will chemistry professors be replaced by AI?
Updated
Chemistry professors score 45 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 47%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 14% outright, and 39% stays with people.
- 14% AI can do it
- 47% AI helps
- 39% Needs a person
Moderate exposure
Higher than 63% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 28 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 4 of them today, speeds up 13 and leaves 11 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments. Bibliography compilation is search and formatting; AI does well. | 80% AI can do it |
| Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts. Syllabi, handouts and homework sets are routine writing tasks. | 72% AI can do it |
| Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records. Attendance and grade records are routine digital data entry. | 70% AI can do it |
| Prepare and submit required reports related to instruction. Routine instructional reports are structured and largely automatable. | 65% AI can do it |
| Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory performance, assignments, and papers. Written work grading is automatable; lab performance needs observation. | 55% AI helps |
| Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others. AI drafts and grades exam items; proctoring stays human. | 50% AI helps |
| Write grant proposals to procure external research funding. AI drafts grant sections; scientific vision stays with the PI. | 50% AI helps |
| Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction. Curriculum redesign benefits from AI analysis but needs faculty decisions. | 45% AI helps |
| Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences. AI speeds up reading and summarizing; conferences remain human. | 45% AI helps |
| Write letters of recommendation for students. Letters need personal knowledge of each student; AI drafts only. | 40% AI helps |
Show the other 18 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media. Bench experiments stay physical; writing and literature review assist. | 35% AI helps |
| Select, order, and maintain materials and supplies for teaching and research, such as textbooks, chemicals, and laboratory equipment. Ordering and inventory tools help; physical stock handling stays human. | 35% AI helps |
| Provide professional consulting services to government or industry. Consulting needs expert judgment and client contact; AI assists research. | 35% AI helps |
| Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, and chemical separation. AI helps draft slides and notes; live delivery stays human. | 30% AI helps |
| Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues. Career advising needs personal rapport, though AI can draft resources. | 22% AI helps |
| Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities. Recruitment involves some admin paperwork, but mostly personal outreach. | 22% AI helps |
| Perform administrative duties, such as serving as a department head. Leadership is people driven; some paperwork can be automated. | 22% AI helps |
| Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work. Mentoring research students relies on personal, ongoing human guidance. | 15% Needs a person |
| Establish, teach, and monitor students' compliance with safety rules for handling chemicals, equipment, and other hazardous materials. Safety oversight needs physical presence and on-site judgment. | 12% Needs a person |
| Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students. Live office hour advising is face to face and relational. | 12% Needs a person |
| Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions. Live discussion moderation depends on real time human interaction. | 10% Needs a person |
| Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues. Collaboration is interpersonal and relies on live discussion. | 10% Needs a person |
| Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues. Committee deliberation needs live human debate and accountability. | 10% Needs a person |
| Serve on committees or in professional societies. Committee and society service is mostly human participation. | 10% Needs a person |
| Act as advisers to student organizations. Student org advising is in person and relationship based. | 10% Needs a person |
| Supervise students' laboratory work. Lab supervision requires physical presence and real time response. | 8% Needs a person |
| Participate in campus and community events. Campus and community events need physical attendance and presence. | 5% Needs a person |
| Clean laboratory facilities. Physical cleaning of lab spaces needs hands on work. | 3% Needs a person |
How chemistry professors compare
All occupations (923)
Educational instruction and library (62)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $93,250 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 19,980 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +2.3% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Run lab safety and hazard briefings before every practical session
- Supervise titrations and spectroscopy sessions in the teaching lab
- Design assessments in Blackboard Learn with rubrics for lab write-ups
- Write grant proposals to NSF or NIH for chemistry research
- Mentor graduate students through instrument training on NMR and HPLC
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about chemistry professors and AI
Will AI replace chemistry professors?
Partly. About 3 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly compiling bibliographies and preparing course materials like syllabi and handouts. Teaching live, supervising lab work, moderating discussions and serving on committees stay with people because they need a person in the room and real time judgment.
Which chemistry professor tasks is AI taking over?
Bibliography compilation scores 80 on exposure, and syllabus, handout and homework preparation scores 72. Both are search, formatting and routine writing. Attendance and grade record keeping, at exposure 70, is structured digital data entry that software in Blackboard Learn and Excel handles well.
Which chemistry professor tasks stay human?
Cleaning laboratory facilities scores 3 on exposure, and supervising student lab work scores 8. Both need physical presence and real time response. Moderating classroom discussions and collaborating with colleagues score 10, because they depend on live human interaction and debate.
How can chemistry professors stay valuable as AI takes over routine work?
Spend the hours AI frees on lab supervision, live discussion and hands-on instrument training. Write rubrics for lab write-ups in Blackboard Learn, review AI-drafted exam items yourself, and keep research funding and grant writing in your hands.
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Next steps for chemistry professors
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