Will earth science professors be replaced by AI?
Updated
Earth science professors score 48 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 19% outright, and 34% stays with people.
- 19% AI can do it
- 47% AI helps
- 34% Needs a person
Moderate exposure
Higher than 70% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 26 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 4 of them today, speeds up 13 and leaves 9 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments. Literature search and citation formatting are highly automatable today. | 80% AI can do it |
| Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records. Routine record keeping that LMS and spreadsheets largely handle. | 70% AI can do it |
| Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts. Drafting syllabi, problem sets and handouts is mostly text generation. | 70% AI can do it |
| Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers. AI drafts grades and feedback; instructor reviews the output. | 60% AI can do it |
| Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others. AI drafts and grades questions; proctoring and oversight stay human. | 55% AI helps |
| Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences. AI speeds literature search and summaries; conferences stay human. | 55% AI helps |
| Write grant proposals to procure external research funding. AI drafts proposal sections; funder fit and ideas stay human. | 50% AI helps |
| Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as structural geology, micrometeorology, and atmospheric thermodynamics. AI drafts lecture content; delivery and expertise stay human. | 45% AI helps |
| Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction. AI helps draft and compare curricula; faculty make final calls. | 45% AI helps |
| Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks and laboratory equipment. AI helps compare textbooks and gear; purchasing steps stay manual. | 40% AI helps |
Show the other 16 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media. AI speeds analysis, coding and drafting; research judgement stays human. | 40% AI helps |
| Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities. Registration and placement admin is automatable; outreach needs people. | 40% AI helps |
| Answer questions from the public and media. AI drafts routine replies; interviews and expert statements stay human. | 40% AI helps |
| Review papers or serve on editorial boards for scientific journals, and review grant proposals for federal agencies. Manuscript summaries help, but confidential review limits AI use. | 35% AI helps |
| Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues. AI can pull requirements; personal career advice stays human. | 30% AI helps |
| Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head. Reports and email are AI assisted; people decisions stay human. | 30% AI helps |
| Provide professional consulting services to government or industry. AI helps with analysis and reports; expert judgement drives advice. | 30% AI helps |
| Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues. Collaboration is mostly human conversation; AI helps only with drafts. | 20% Needs a person |
| Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work. Mentoring students is interpersonal; AI only helps with admin tasks. | 20% Needs a person |
| Act as advisers to student organizations. Attending student group meetings and mentoring is in person work. | 20% Needs a person |
| Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions. Live discussion with students needs real time human judgement. | 15% Needs a person |
| Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students. Live advising at office hours needs human presence and judgement. | 15% Needs a person |
| Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues. Committee deliberation and votes need human judgement and presence. | 15% Needs a person |
| Purchase and maintain equipment to support research projects. Equipment upkeep is hands on; only ordering paperwork is digital. | 15% Needs a person |
| Supervise laboratory work and field work. Supervising labs and field sites requires physical presence. | 12% Needs a person |
| Participate in campus and community events. Attending campus and community events requires physical presence. | 5% Needs a person |
How earth science professors compare
All occupations (923)
Educational instruction and library (62)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $103,170 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 9,900 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +2.4% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Supervise field sites and lab sessions in person
- Run MATLAB analysis on geoscience datasets for research
- Review AI-drafted grades and feedback in the LMS
- Lead live seminars and moderate classroom discussion
- Write grant proposals for field and lab research
- Maintain field instruments and lab equipment
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about earth science professors and AI
Will AI replace earth science professors?
Partly. About 4 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly compiling bibliographies for outside reading and preparing course materials such as syllabi, problem sets and handouts. Teaching live, supervising labs and field work, and advising students at office hours stay with the professor.
Which earth science professor tasks is AI taking over?
Compiling bibliographies for outside reading has an exposure score of 80, the highest in this job, because literature search and citation formatting are mostly text work. Maintaining attendance and grade records follows at 70, since the LMS and spreadsheets already handle routine entries.
Which earth science professor tasks stay human?
Supervising lab and field work scores 12 on exposure, because it needs physical presence at the site. Leading classroom discussion and advising at office hours both score 15, since real time judgement with students stays with the professor.
How can earth science professors stay valuable?
Take responsibility for lab and field supervision, where exposure is low, and run fieldwork in person. Use MATLAB and Excel to build research datasets that students analyse in class. Review every AI-drafted syllabus, exam and grade in the LMS and Word before release, since the professor signs off on the output.
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