Will AI replace Remote Sensing Scientists and Technologists?
Life, Physical, and Social Science · O*NET 19-2099.01
Task exposure index for this occupation
Averaged across the week, this work sits at the high end of the exposure scale. O*NET breaks Remote Sensing Scientists and Technologists into 24 distinct work activities. Weighted by how much of the week each one takes, 64% of the job sits at or above the threshold where current systems can do the task end to end. The single largest contributor is "Analyze geological or geographical data", which scores 86 and takes roughly 16% of the week. That is the average for the job title. It is not a measurement of any particular person’s week, and the difference between the two is usually larger than the difference between job titles.
Model v1.2 · activity indices last updated 18 August 2026
What this occupation does
Apply remote sensing principles and methods to analyze data and solve problems in areas such as natural resource management, urban planning, or homeland security. May develop new sensor systems, analytical techniques, or new applications for existing systems.
The most exposed parts of the job
Scored 0–100 on how completely a current system could perform the activity.
- Record research or operational data.95
About 5% of a typical week
- Compile geographic or related data.92
About 5% of a typical week
- Analyze geological or geographical data.86
About 16% of a typical week
- Analyze physical, survey, or geographic data.86
About 2% of a typical week
- Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.85
About 5% of a typical week
The least exposed parts
The same scale. These are the activities current systems handle worst.
- Set up laboratory or field equipment.16
About 4% of a typical week
- Collect environmental data or samples.16
About 2% of a typical week
- Collect geographical or geological field data.16
About 5% of a typical week
- Direct technical activities or operations.26
About 7% of a typical week
- Train personnel in technical or scientific procedures.34
About 4% of a typical week
How far off the rest is
Of those 24 activities, 7 can be performed by systems available today and 5 are outside what current approaches do at all. The remaining 12 sit in between — demonstrated in research or in narrow products, but not something you can hand over whole. We do not put dates on that middle group, because nobody can.
Compared with similar occupations
The nearest scoring roles in Life, Physical, and Social Science.
- Remote Sensing Scientists and Technologists (this page)60
- Political Scientists60
- Economists60
- Environmental Restoration Planners60
Why your own number is different
Two people with the title "Remote Sensing Scientists and Technologists" can spend their weeks on almost entirely different parts of this list, and the parts they choose move the number far more than the title does. Who signs off when the work is wrong, whether the job needs you physically present, and how fast you have picked up the tools all change it again — and none of that is in an occupation average.
The assessment asks you to divide your own week across these activities and answer fourteen questions about the parts of the job an occupation average cannot see. It takes six to nine minutes.
Score my own roleFree to take. The full report is a paid subscription — the price and its terms are on the pricing section, before you start.
Questions
Will AI replace Remote Sensing Scientists and Technologists?
We do not answer that, because nobody can. What is measurable is how much of the work is already doable by machine: for Remote Sensing Scientists and Technologists, about 64% of a typical week, across 24 activities. The other 36% is not, and what happens to the job depends on things this index does not contain — cost, regulation, who carries the liability, and what the people doing it decide to do next.
What part of this job is most exposed?
"Record research or operational data" — it scores 95 out of 100 on task automatability and takes roughly 5% of the week.
What part is least exposed?
"Set up laboratory or field equipment", at 16 out of 100. Work like that is where the hours you protect tend to be worth the most.
Where do these numbers come from?
The activity list and the time weights come from O*NET 30.3, the US Department of Labor's occupational database. The exposure score for each activity is ours, from a published model — the weights, the priors and the limitations are all on the methodology page. No language model is involved in the arithmetic.
Does this apply to my job?
Only roughly. This is the average for the title, and the number that matters is the one for the week you actually work. The assessment asks you to divide your own time across these activities and answer fourteen questions about accountability, the parts of the job that need you specifically, and how fast you have adapted. That produces a different number, and usually a more useful one.
The full model — the weights, the priors and what it cannot see — is on the methodology page.