Will math professors be replaced by AI?
Updated
Math professors score 52 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 56%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 15% outright, and 29% stays with people.
- 15% AI can do it
- 56% AI helps
- 29% Needs a person
High exposure
Higher than 79% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 23 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 3 of them today, speeds up 13 and leaves 7 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records. Routine records and grade entry are structured digital data work. | 80% AI can do it |
| Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts. AI drafts syllabi, homework sets and handouts; teacher reviews. | 72% AI can do it |
| Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments. AI compiles reading lists quickly; citations need checking for accuracy. | 70% AI can do it |
| Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers. AI grades routine problem sets; teacher checks partial credit and feedback. | 58% AI helps |
| Develop department and course schedules. Scheduling software optimizes timetables; constraints need human negotiation. | 55% AI helps |
| Write grant proposals to procure external research funding. AI drafts proposal sections and budgets; funding strategy stays human. | 55% AI helps |
| Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others. AI drafts exam items and grades; proctoring stays human. | 50% AI helps |
| Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in books, professional journals, or electronic media. AI aids literature review and drafting; original research stays human. | 50% AI helps |
| Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction. AI can propose curriculum revisions; faculty decide and govern changes. | 45% AI helps |
| Keep abreast of developments and technological advances in the mathematical field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences. AI summarizes papers and trends; reading and conferences stay human. | 40% AI helps |
Show the other 13 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks. Ordering and procurement is partly digital; choosing texts needs judgement. | 40% AI helps |
| Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as linear algebra, differential equations, and discrete mathematics. Live delivery is human; AI helps draft examples and notes. | 30% AI helps |
| Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues. AI answers routine advising questions; career guidance needs human judgement. | 30% AI helps |
| Conduct faculty performance evaluations. AI drafts review summaries; evaluative judgement stays with administrators. | 30% AI helps |
| Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head. Paperwork is AI assisted; leadership and staff decisions stay human. | 25% AI helps |
| Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities. Recruiting events are in-person; registration systems can be automated. | 25% AI helps |
| Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work. Mentoring and supervision rely on personal, ongoing human interaction. | 18% Needs a person |
| Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students. Face-to-face help needs presence; chatbots only answer routine questions. | 15% Needs a person |
| Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues. Collaboration relies on human relationships and shared decisions. | 12% Needs a person |
| Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues. Committee deliberation and votes require human presence and accountability. | 12% Needs a person |
| Act as advisers to student organizations. In-person adviser role at student organizations is largely human. | 12% Needs a person |
| Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions. Live discussion moderation depends on real-time human interaction. | 10% Needs a person |
| Participate in campus and community events. Campus and community events are physical, in-person presence work. | 5% Needs a person |
How math professors compare
All occupations (923)
Educational instruction and library (62)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $79,940 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 47,670 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +1.7% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Verify AI-compiled citations against library catalogs
- Grade partial credit and write feedback in the LMS
- Revise AI-drafted syllabi against course learning outcomes
- Build grant budgets and narratives in Microsoft Word and Excel
- Analyze enrollment and outcome data in SAS or SQL
- Moderate live classroom discussions and run office hours
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about math professors and AI
Will AI replace math professors?
Partly. About 4 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly maintaining student records and preparing course materials such as syllabi and homework sets. Teaching live classes, moderating discussion and advising students in person stay with professors because those tasks need a person in the room.
Which math professor tasks is AI taking over?
Record keeping, course preparation and bibliography work are the most exposed. Maintaining grades and attendance scores 80 on exposure, since it is structured digital data that AI enters quickly. Drafting syllabi, homework sets and handouts scores 72, and compiling reading lists for outside assignments scores 70, so the professor still checks every citation.
Which math professor tasks stay human?
Office hours, live discussion and committee work stay human. Maintaining office hours to advise students scores only 15 on exposure, because face-to-face help needs presence and chatbots only handle routine questions. Moderating classroom discussion scores 10 and serving on committees scores 12, since both depend on people deciding and responding together.
How can math professors stay valuable?
Take responsibility for the steps that need checking. Verify each AI-compiled citation against the library catalog before it goes on a reading list. Grade partial credit on proofs yourself in the LMS, and write feedback that names the exact step where a student's reasoning broke. Use SAS or SQL on enrollment data to answer questions about student outcomes.
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