AI exposure: Soil and Plant Scientists
Conduct research in breeding, physiology, production, yield, and management of crops and agricultural plants or trees, shrubs, and nursery stock, their growth in soils, and control of pests; or study the chemical, physical, biological, and mineralogical composition of soils as they relate to plant or crop growth. May classify and map soils and investigate effects of alternative practices on soil and crop productivity.
Reading this score
computed35.7% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Soil and Plant Scientists at the 62th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 2.4 out of 4 on what a current system can produce, and the frictions that hold other jobs in place are comparatively weak here.
What holds the line here is verification cost. Across this occupation's 27 tasks it averages 2.00 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, checking the output costs more than producing it. Where an undetected error is expensive, dangerous or irreversible, the economics change. Someone has to verify the work, and verifying can cost as much as doing it. This is the friction most likely to fall as tools for checking improve.
The most exposed thing this job does is Communicate research or project results to other professionals or the public or teach related..., at 73.3%. The least is Survey undisturbed or disturbed lands for classification, inventory, mapping, environmental..., at 0.0%. A gap of 73.3% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within life, physical and social science occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 36.3% across the group's 60 roles, with 31 scoring higher. Being in an exposed family does not make a particular job exposed, and the reverse holds too.
What would move this score. Of 27 tasks, 17 are currently banded exposed, 9 assisted and 1 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take cheaper ways to verify output, since the cost of checking is currently doing more to hold this work in place than the cost of producing it. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Task by task
27 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communicate research or project results to other professionals or the public or teach related courses, seminars, or workshops. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.24 | exposed |
| Conduct experiments to investigate the underlying mechanisms of plant growth and response to the environment. | 58.3% | 29.2% | 12.5% | 3.68 | exposed |
| Provide information or recommendations to farmers or other landowners regarding ways in which they can best use land, promote plant growth, or avoid or correct problems such as erosion. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.05 | exposed |
| Conduct experiments to develop new or improved varieties of field crops, focusing on characteristics such as yield, quality, disease resistance, nutritional value, or adaptation to specific soils or climates. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.00 | exposed |
| Investigate responses of soils to specific management practices to determine the use capabilities of soils and the effects of alternative practices on soil productivity. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.79 | exposed |
| Provide advice regarding the development of regulatory standards for land reclamation or soil conservation. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.53 | exposed |
| Conduct research to determine best methods of planting, spraying, cultivating, harvesting, storing, processing, or transporting horticultural products. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.50 | exposed |
| Study ways to improve agricultural sustainability, such as the use of new methods of composting. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.44 | exposed |
| Research technical requirements or environmental impacts of urban green spaces, such as green roof installations. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.00 | exposed |
| Conduct research into the use of plant species as green fuels or in the production of green fuels. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 2.33 | exposed |
| Consult with engineers or other technical personnel working on construction projects about the effects of soil problems and possible solutions to these problems. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.29 | exposed |
| Plan or supervise waste management programs for composting or farming. | 33.3% | 29.2% | 37.5% | 3.14 | exposed |
| Study insect distribution or habitat and recommend methods to prevent importation or spread of injurious species. | 33.3% | 29.2% | 37.5% | 2.64 | exposed |
| Develop methods of conserving or managing soil that can be applied by farmers or forestry companies. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 4.07 | exposed |
| Investigate soil problems or poor water quality to determine sources and effects. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 3.84 | exposed |
| Identify degraded or contaminated soils and develop plans to improve their chemical, biological, or physical characteristics. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 3.59 | exposed |
| Study soil characteristics to classify soils on the basis of factors such as geographic location, landscape position, or soil properties. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 3.53 | exposed |
| Develop new or improved methods or products for controlling or eliminating weeds, crop diseases, or insect pests. | 23.3% | 26.7% | 50.0% | 3.56 | assisted |
| Develop improved measurement techniques, soil conservation methods, soil sampling devices, or related technology. | 23.3% | 26.7% | 50.0% | 3.50 | assisted |
| Develop environmentally safe methods or products for controlling or eliminating weeds, crop diseases, or pests. | 23.3% | 26.7% | 50.0% | 3.47 | assisted |
| Develop ways of altering soils to suit different types of plants. | 23.3% | 26.7% | 50.0% | 3.07 | assisted |
| Conduct experiments investigating how soil forms, changes, or interacts with land-based ecosystems or living organisms. | 23.3% | 26.7% | 50.0% | 3.06 | assisted |
| Identify or classify species of insects or allied forms, such as mites or spiders. | 23.3% | 26.7% | 50.0% | 2.67 | assisted |
| Plan or supervise land conservation or reclamation programs for industrial development projects. | 23.3% | 26.7% | 50.0% | 2.54 | assisted |
| Perform chemical analyses of the microorganism content of soils to determine microbial reactions or chemical mineralogical relationships to plant growth. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 3.29 | assisted |
| Conduct experiments regarding causes of bee diseases or factors affecting yields of nectar or pollen. | 16.7% | 33.3% | 50.0% | 2.67 | assisted |
| Survey undisturbed or disturbed lands for classification, inventory, mapping, environmental impact assessments, environmental protection planning, conservation planning, or reclamation planning. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.29 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 2.43 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 1.30 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.59 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 1.24 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.94 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 2.00 | 0-3 |
What this means in practice
Where most of a role's weighted task load is exposed, the work that survives is usually the part of the job nobody wrote into the job description: deciding what should be produced rather than producing it, and being answerable for the result. The tasks lowest on this page are a better guide to where to spend your time than any general advice about the future of work.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.