Occupation baseline · Research consensus
Will AI replace Biological Technicians?
Baseline AI displacement risk for Biological Technicians, aggregated from 8 research sources.
What this score means
Biological Technicians leans toward the safer end for Research & Science. Parts of the role touch tasks AI is getting good at, but the core still depends on hands on work or judgment that resists automation. At 34 out of 100 it scores 5 points below the Research & Science average of 39. Across the 8 sources behind this baseline, individual estimates run from 13 to 42, so the score is a weighted consensus rather than any single figure.
The number is a consensus estimate for the typical version of the role, built from published academic and industry research scored occupation by occupation. It is not a prediction about any individual. How scoring works
What this job actually involves
Exposure follows the work itself rather than the job title, so it is worth seeing what the role is made of. These are the tasks O*NET records for Biological Technicians, most central first, showing 12 of 17.
- 01Conduct research, or assist in the conduct of research, including the collection of information and samples, such as blood, water, soil, plants and animals.
- 02Use computers, computer-interfaced equipment, robotics or high-technology industrial applications to perform work duties.
- 03Monitor and observe experiments, recording production and test data for evaluation by research personnel.
- 04Analyze experimental data and interpret results to write reports and summaries of findings.
- 05Provide technical support and services for scientists and engineers working in fields such as agriculture, environmental science, resource management, biology, and health sciences.
- 06Keep detailed logs of all work-related activities.
- 07Input data into databases.
- 08Isolate, identify and prepare specimens for examination.
- 09Set up, adjust, calibrate, clean, maintain, and troubleshoot laboratory and field equipment.
- 10Clean, maintain and prepare supplies and work areas.
- 11Monitor laboratory work to ensure compliance with set standards.
- 12Place orders for laboratory equipment and supplies.
Task statements from O*NET by the National Center for O*NET Development, used under CC BY 4.0. The tasks are descriptive; the exposure score above is ours.
The research behind this score
This baseline aggregates 8 research sources that scored Biological Technicians for AI and automation exposure. More recent, higher confidence studies carry more weight in the final number.
- 01Anthropic Economic Index 2026 - AI Task Exposure · 2026Anthropic
- 02Crashing Waves vs. Rising Tides: Preliminary Findings on AI Automation from Thousands of Worker Evaluations of Labor Market Tasks · 2026Mertens, Thompson et al., MIT FutureTech (2026)
- 03Global Automation Atlas: Task Substitution Exposure by Occupation · 2026Garg, Crosta, Baier (2026), arXiv:2605.17086
- 04The AI Jobs Transition Framework: Mapping AI's Near-Term Impact on Jobs · 2026OpenAI Economic Research (2026)
- 05Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure · 2025International Labour Organization, Working Paper 140 (2025)
- 06Working with AI: Measuring the Applicability of Generative AI to Occupations · 2025Tomlinson, Jaffe et al., Microsoft Research (2025)
- 07GPTs are GPTs: Labor Market Impact Potential of LLMs · 2024Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin, Rock (Science, 2024)
- 08AI Occupational Exposure to Language Modeling · 2023Felten, Raj, Seamans (2023)
Common questions
- How likely is AI to replace Biological Technicians?
- Published research puts Biological Technicians at 34 out of 100 for AI displacement risk, in the lower risk band. The number is a weighted consensus of 8 research sources and describes the typical version of the role, not any individual.
- Do researchers agree on the risk for Biological Technicians?
- Only partly. Individual estimates for Biological Technicians run from 13 to 42 out of 100 across the 8 sources behind this score, so the single number smooths over real disagreement. More recent and higher confidence studies carry more weight in it.
- Which research & science roles face similar AI exposure?
- The closest published research & science roles to Biological Technicians by score are Food Scientists and Technologists (34/100), Remote Sensing Scientists and Technologists (34/100), and Epidemiologists (35/100). Each has its own page with the research behind its number.
Also covers
Aquatic Technician (Aquatic Tech) · Aquatics Technician · Artificial Breeding Laboratory Technician (Artificial Breeding Lab Tech) · Artificial Breeding Technician · Artificial Inseminator · Babcock Tester · Bacteriology Research Assistant · Bacteriology Technician and related titles
Estimated displacement window
The dated estimate for this role is included in the full personalised report.
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More research & science occupations
- Food Science Technicians36/100
- Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians36/100
- Epidemiologists35/100
- Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists35/100
- Food Scientists and Technologists34/100
- Remote Sensing Scientists and Technologists34/100
- Conservation Scientists32/100
- Occupational Health and Safety Specialists32/100
Informational guidance based on published research, not professional career or financial advice. Scores update as new research is ingested.