How likely is AI to replace Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas?

Published research puts Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas at 14 out of 100 for AI displacement risk, in the lower risk band. The number is a weighted consensus of 5 research sources and describes the typical version of the role, not any individual.

Do researchers agree on the risk for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas?

Only partly. Individual estimates for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas run from 5 to 31 out of 100 across the 5 sources behind this score, so the single number smooths over real disagreement. More recent and higher confidence studies carry more weight in it.

Which construction & trades roles face similar AI exposure?

The closest published construction & trades roles to Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas by score are Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining (14/100), Hazardous Materials Removal Workers (14/100), and Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers, All Other (14/100). Each has its own page with the research behind its number.

Occupation baseline · Research consensus

Will AI replace Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas?

Lower risk

Baseline AI displacement risk for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas, aggregated from 5 research sources.

What this score means

Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas is among the least exposed roles in Construction & Trades. Most of what the job involves still sits outside what current AI can do, even as the tools around it keep changing. At 14 out of 100 it sits close to the Construction & Trades average of 13. Across the 5 sources behind this baseline, individual estimates run from 5 to 31, 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 Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas, most central first, showing 12 of 29.

01Operate controls to stabilize machines and to position and align drills.
02Start, stop, and control drilling speed of machines and insertion of casings into holes.
03Regulate air pressure, rotary speed, and downward pressure, according to the type of rock or concrete being drilled.
04Select and attach drill bits and drill rods, adding more rods as hole depths increase, and changing drill bits as needed.
05Drive or guide truck-mounted equipment into position, level and stabilize rigs, and extend telescoping derricks.
06Operate machines to flush earth cuttings or to blow dust from holes.
07Verify depths and alignments of boring positions.
08Perform routine maintenance and upgrade work on machines and equipment, such as replacing parts, building up drill bits, and lubricating machinery.
09Select the appropriate drill for the job, using knowledge of rock or soil conditions.
10Document geological formations encountered during work.
11Drive trucks, tractors, or truck-mounted drills to and from work sites.
12Assemble and position machines, augers, casing pipes, and other equipment, using hand and power tools.

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 5 research sources that scored Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas 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
02Global Automation Atlas: Task Substitution Exposure by Occupation · 2026Garg, Crosta, Baier (2026), arXiv:2605.17086
03Working with AI: Measuring the Applicability of Generative AI to Occupations · 2025Tomlinson, Jaffe et al., Microsoft Research (2025)
04GPTs are GPTs: Labor Market Impact Potential of LLMs · 2024Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin, Rock (Science, 2024)
05AI Occupational Exposure to Language Modeling · 2023Felten, Raj, Seamans (2023)

Common questions

How likely is AI to replace Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas?: Published research puts Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas at 14 out of 100 for AI displacement risk, in the lower risk band. The number is a weighted consensus of 5 research sources and describes the typical version of the role, not any individual.
Do researchers agree on the risk for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas?: Only partly. Individual estimates for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas run from 5 to 31 out of 100 across the 5 sources behind this score, so the single number smooths over real disagreement. More recent and higher confidence studies carry more weight in it.
Which construction & trades roles face similar AI exposure?: The closest published construction & trades roles to Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas by score are Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining (14/100), Hazardous Materials Removal Workers (14/100), and Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers, All Other (14/100). Each has its own page with the research behind its number.

Also covers

Auger Operator · Blast Driller · Blast Hole Driller · Boring Machine Operator · Churn Drill Operator · Churn Driller · Construction Driller · Construction Well Drill Operator and related titles

Estimated displacement window

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Informational guidance based on published research, not professional career or financial advice. Scores update as new research is ingested.