A new job risk calculator launched by resume platform Kickresume shows that telephone operators and computer programmers face some of the highest odds of replacement by artificial intelligence software tools.
The interactive online tool evaluates 756 different occupations using research from artificial intelligence developers. It assigns a risk level percentage to each profession, designating any role scoring above 30 per cent as high risk for automation.
Telephone operators along with office and administrative support workers top the threat list with an 83 per cent risk level of replacement by automated tools. Computer programmers in computer and mathematical fields closely follow as the second most vulnerable group at 67 per cent risk, while legal secretaries and administrative assistants rank third at 64 per cent.
Customer service representatives, data entry keyers, and medical records specialists each register a 63 per cent risk rating. Medical transcriptionists face a 60 per cent risk level, followed by market research analysts and marketing specialists at 57 per cent, wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives at 54 per cent, and database architects at 52 per cent. Software quality assurance analysts and testers also landed in 19th place among the top 20 at-risk positions.
How the AI Risk Calculator Measures Exposure
The calculator relies on recent empirical studies conducted by Anthropic, developer of the Claude artificial intelligence model, and OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT. It incorporates Anthropic's observed exposure metric, which measures the actual proportion of job tasks being automated in professional workplaces based on user activity data.
Anthropic is an artificial intelligence research and safety business headquartered in San Francisco, California, known for building Claude. OpenAI, also based in San Francisco, is the artificial intelligence enterprise that launched ChatGPT in 2022.
Peter Duris, chief executive and co-founder of Kickresume, told the Daily Mail: "When you look at the top 20 jobs most likely to be replaced by AI according to our tool, there are a few patterns." He noted that the primary indicator of vulnerability is whether automated systems can already execute specific job duties or are expected to perform them soon.
"Tasks like scheduling meetings and taking notes, coordinating with colleagues over email, and processing documents are increasingly being taken over by AI," Mr Duris said. He added that high-earning tech roles like software quality assurance testers rank high because many of their core responsibilities can be automated, demonstrating that salary level does not protect workers from replacement.
Professions Least Threatened by Automation
At the opposite end of the index, physical trade occupations and roles requiring human connection scored a zero per cent risk level of artificial intelligence replacement. Stonemasons, pile drive operators, painter decorators, and roofers were rated completely safe from automation.
The ten least vulnerable professions identified by the tool comprise:
- Wellhead Pumpers (Transportation and Material Moving): Risk Level 0%
- Tire Repairers and Changers (Installation, Maintenance, and Repair): Risk Level 0%
- Terrazzo Workers and Finishers (Construction and Extraction): Risk Level 0%
- Tapers (Construction and Extraction): Risk Level 0%
- Surveyors (Architecture and Engineering): Risk Level 0%
- Stonemasons (Construction and Extraction): Risk Level 0%
- Preschool Special Education Teachers (Educational Instruction and Library): Risk Level 0%
- Slaughterers and Meat Packers (Production): Risk Level 0%
- Roustabouts, Oil and Gas (Construction and Extraction): Risk Level 0%
- Roof Bolters, Mining, Construction and Extraction: Risk Level 0%
"Someone has to physically be there. You can't hand that to a computer," Mr Duris said regarding hands-on trades. He highlighted that positions relying on empathy, direct care, and human presence remain insulated from software tools.
Workforce Impact and Corporate Downsizing
Corporate cost reduction efforts have already led to headline workforce cuts linked directly to software automation. In February, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey reduced the workforce at his payments firm Block by nearly half, terminating more than 4,000 employees while specifically citing artificial intelligence as the reason.
Jack Dorsey co-founded the social media platform Twitter in 2006 and later launched Block, a financial technology enterprise originally named Square that specializes in mobile payment processing.
Unemployment Trends and Future Hiring Outlook
Despite isolated corporate layoffs, Anthropic's broader economic analysis indicates that artificial intelligence has not caused widespread unemployment across highly exposed sectors. Labor data shows no sharp increase in overall joblessness for coders or customer service staff since ChatGPT launched publicly in 2022.
Research from Stanford University suggests that while the overall employment impact of artificial intelligence remains limited, it may contribute to recent difficulties facing university graduates in securing entry-level roles. In the United Kingdom, overall job vacancies have almost halved since peaking in 2022, a contraction driven by broader economic conditions but potentially accelerated by software automation.
"We're already seeing the impact, with fewer online job postings year-on-year in sectors that are very exposed to AI, especially in the UK," Mr Duris said. He added that a Kickresume survey conducted last spring revealed 21 per cent of respondents either lost a job to artificial intelligence or knew someone who had, noting: "That's not a measure of how many jobs have gone, but it does tell you how close the question already feels."
Expert Warnings on Long-Term Job Displacement
Artificial intelligence expert Kai-Fu Lee warned that half of all current jobs will be overtaken by automated systems within 15 years. Speaking to Dailymail.com, the author of AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order warned that global employment faces a disruption akin to that faced by farmers during the industrial revolution.
Kai-Fu Lee is a veteran computer scientist with more than 30 years of artificial intelligence experience who previously served as president of Google China before founding venture capital firm Innovation Works.
"People aren't really fully aware of the effect AI will have on their jobs," Mr Lee said, stressing the urgent need to warn people that displacement is coming and to guide workers toward retraining programs.
Mr Lee emphasized that human workers retain crucial advantages, stating: "AI is powerful and adaptable, but it can't do everything that humans do." He noted that automated systems cannot create, conceptualize, undertake complex strategic planning, execute precise physical tasks requiring hand-eye coordination, or navigate unknown and unstructured spaces, and lack genuine human empathy, human connection, and compassion.
To prepare for shifting workplace demands, Mr Duris recommended that workers in high risk roles adapt by learning to manage software tools rather than leaving their fields. "You can upskill and learn how to use AI," Mr Duris advised. "When AI takes over certain tasks, there's usually still someone prompting the tool, supervising it, and checking whether the results hold up."
