Will commercial divers be replaced by AI?
Updated
Commercial divers score 16 of 100 for AI exposure. 80% of their task time still needs a person. AI speeds up the other 20%.
- 20% AI helps
- 80% Needs a person
Low exposure
Lower than 87% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 23 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can't do any of them end to end yet. It speeds up 4 and leaves 19 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Obtain information about diving tasks and environmental conditions. AI can summarize forecasts, charts and site data for divers. | 55% AI helps |
| Take appropriate safety precautions, such as monitoring dive lengths and depths and registering with authorities before diving expeditions begin. Paperwork can be drafted; live depth monitoring stays with divers. | 35% AI helps |
| Inspect and test docks, ships, buoyage systems, plant intakes or outflows, or underwater pipelines, cables, or sewers, using closed circuit television, still photography, and testing equipment. AI can flag defects in inspection video; the dive stays physical. | 35% AI helps |
| Carry out non-destructive testing, such as tests for cracks on the legs of oil rigs at sea. Crack testing is physical; AI can help interpret sensor readings. | 25% AI helps |
| Operate underwater video, sonar, recording, or related equipment to investigate underwater structures or marine life. Sonar operation happens in water; AI only aids later data review. | 20% Needs a person |
| Supervise or train other divers, including hobby divers. Training and supervision rely on live human judgement and trust. | 18% Needs a person |
| Inspect the condition of underwater steel or wood structures. Underwater inspection is physical; AI helps only with photo review. | 18% Needs a person |
| Take test samples or photographs to assess the condition of vessels or structures. Sample collection is physical; AI helps only with photo assessment. | 15% Needs a person |
| Communicate with workers on the surface while underwater, using signal lines or telephones. Live underwater communication through lines and phones; no AI role. | 10% Needs a person |
| Check and maintain diving equipment, such as helmets, masks, air tanks, harnesses, or gauges. Physical gear inspection and upkeep; AI offers little help. | 8% Needs a person |
Show the other 13 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Perform offshore oil or gas exploration or extraction duties, such as conducting underwater surveys or repairing and maintaining drilling rigs or platforms. Offshore rig work is physical; AI helps only with survey paperwork. | 8% Needs a person |
| Recover objects by placing rigging around sunken objects, hooking rigging to crane lines, and operating winches, derricks, or cranes to raise objects. Rigging and crane operation are physical tasks with little AI help. | 5% Needs a person |
| Perform activities related to underwater search and rescue, salvage, recovery, or cleanup operations. Search and rescue needs live physical action and urgent judgement. | 5% Needs a person |
| Repair ships, bridge foundations, or other structures below the water line, using caulk, bolts, and hand tools. Underwater structural repair with hand tools is physical work. | 4% Needs a person |
| Install, inspect, clean, or repair piping or valves. Pipe and valve cleaning and repair is physical work. | 4% Needs a person |
| Remove rubbish or pollution from the sea. Debris and pollution removal is physical work in open water. | 4% Needs a person |
| Cut and weld steel, using underwater welding equipment, jigs, and supports. Underwater cutting and welding is skilled, physical work. | 3% Needs a person |
| Install pilings or footings for piers or bridges. Piling installation needs heavy equipment and physical presence. | 3% Needs a person |
| Salvage wrecked ships or their cargo, using pneumatic power velocity and hydraulic tools and explosive charges, when necessary. Salvage uses tools and explosives under physical, hazardous conditions. | 3% Needs a person |
| Remove obstructions from strainers or marine railway or launching ways, using pneumatic or power hand tools. Clearing strainers with power tools underwater is physical work. | 3% Needs a person |
| Set or guide placement of pilings or sandbags to provide support for structures, such as docks, bridges, cofferdams, or platforms. Guiding piling placement is physical work with little AI role. | 3% Needs a person |
| Drill holes in rock and rig explosives for underwater demolitions. Drilling and rigging explosives is physical and legally regulated. | 3% Needs a person |
| Descend into water with the aid of diver helpers, using scuba gear or diving suits. Physically entering water with helpers is done by people. | 2% Needs a person |
How commercial divers compare
All occupations (923)
Installation, maintenance and repair (50)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $72,990 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 3,450 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +4.8% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Log every dive in diving logbook software
- Plan decompression stops with diving table software
- Run ROV dive log software during subsea inspections
- Cut and weld steel underwater with torches and jigs
- Coordinate dive operations with dynamic positioning DP software operators
- Train and supervise hobby and trainee divers on live dives
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about commercial divers and AI
Will AI replace commercial divers?
Partly. About 1 in 10 working hours for a commercial diver go to tasks AI can already do, mostly obtaining information about diving tasks and environmental conditions, plus drafting safety paperwork before expeditions. The physical dive, welding, cutting and live depth monitoring stay with people.
Which tasks are AI taking over for commercial divers?
Gathering dive and site information scores highest, with an exposure score of 55. AI can summarize forecasts, charts and site data before a dive. Inspection review comes next at 35, since AI can flag defects in inspection video while the dive itself stays physical.
Which commercial diver tasks stay human?
Underwater cutting and welding, with an exposure score of 3, stays with divers because it is skilled physical work. Piling installation and salvage also score 3 because they need heavy equipment, tools and explosive charges in hazardous water. Training and supervising divers scores 18 and relies on live judgement and trust.
How can commercial divers stay valuable as AI spreads?
Keep logging every dive in diving logbook software so your records hold up under audit. Learn ROV piloting to cover the inspection work AI flags. Build skill in underwater welding and cutting, the tasks scoring lowest. Train new divers, since supervision relies on live judgement and trust.
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