Will AI replace Computer and Information Research Scientists?
AI reaches a large part of this job’s work.
50/100
High exposure
More exposed to AI than 81% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 33% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 78% of the work
What the job involves
Conduct research into fundamental computer and information science as theorists, designers, or inventors. Develop solutions to problems in the field of computer hardware and software.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Already happening(5)
- Analyze problems to develop solutions involving computer hardware and software.
- Conduct logical analyses of business, scientific, engineering, and other technical problems, formulating mathematical models of problems for solution by computers.
- Assign or schedule tasks to meet work priorities and goals.
- Consult with users, management, vendors, and technicians to determine computing needs and system requirements.
- Develop and interpret organizational goals, policies, and procedures.
Within reach(8)
- Apply theoretical expertise and innovation to create or apply new technology, such as adapting principles for applying computers to new uses.
- Design computers and the software that runs them.
- Evaluate project plans and proposals to assess feasibility issues.
- Develop performance standards, and evaluate work in light of established standards.
- Participate in staffing decisions and direct training of subordinates.
and 3 more
Out of reach(2)
- Meet with managers, vendors, and others to solicit cooperation and resolve problems.
- Participate in multidisciplinary projects in areas such as virtual reality, human-computer interaction, or robotics.
Also called
Computer Scientist · Control System Computer Scientist · Research Scientist · Information Scientist · Computer Specialist · Scientific Programmer Analyst · AI Engineer (Artificial Intelligence Engineer) · AI Engineer
Related jobs
- Computer Programmers70/100
- Software Developers48/100
- Operations Research Analysts62/100
- Data Scientists57/100
- Mathematicians68/100
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics