Will AI replace Adapted Physical Education Specialists?
Work in Adapted Physical Education Specialists sits in the in-between: AI reaches some of it (~48% in theory) but is only measured doing about 3% today — part human, part machine.
O*NET-SOC 25-2059
How your 20 core tasks split
Top = what GPT-4 judged AI could speed up. Bottom = how much AI was actually used for these tasks (Anthropic's March 2026 report, usage from Aug & Nov 2025). The gap is the real story.
Back in 2023, GPT-4 judged AI could, in theory, assist with a moderate share of this job's tasks (~48%). By late 2025, real-world AI use had reached about 3% of its task activity (still rare). The gap between that 2023 forecast and today is the real story.
Where this job sits among 738 jobs
Each dot is one of 738 U.S. jobs. Right = AI can do more of it. Up = AI is actually used more.
Don't trust a single AI-risk score here
For this job, the signals disagree sharply. AI's theoretical reach looks moderate (~48%), but real-world use is only ~3%, and how much AI "can" do shifts wildly by model — one 2026 study found the share of "high-risk" jobs swung 2.7% to 51.5% just by changing which AI did the rating. This page shows the spread instead of pretending there's one number.
See all 20 tasks, ratedBased on real task-level AI scores — click to collapse
- Maintain thorough student records to document attendance, participation, or progress, ensuring confidentiality of all records.
- Communicate behavioral observations and student progress reports to students, parents, teachers, or administrators.
- Write reports to summarize student performance, social growth, or physical development.
- Review adapted physical education programs or practices to ensure compliance with government or other regulations.
- Request or order physical education equipment, following standard procedures.
- Maintain inventory of instructional equipment, materials, or aids.
- Adapt instructional techniques to the age and skill levels of students.
- Assist in screening or placement of students in adapted physical education programs.
- Evaluate the motor needs of individual students to determine their need for adapted physical education services.
- Advise education professionals of students' physical abilities or disabilities and the accommodations required to enhance their school performance.
- Write or modify individualized education plans (IEPs) for students with intellectual or physical disabilities.
- Prepare lesson plans in accordance with individualized education plans (IEPs) and the functional abilities or needs of students.
- Attend in-service training, workshops, or meetings to keep abreast of current practices or trends in adapted physical education.
- Instruct students, using adapted physical education techniques, to improve physical fitness, gross motor skills, perceptual motor skills, or sports and game achievement.
- Provide individual or small groups of students with adapted physical education instruction that meets desired physical needs or goals.
- Provide students positive feedback to encourage them and help them develop an appreciation for physical education.
- Establish and maintain standards of behavior to create safe, orderly, and effective environments for learning.
- Provide adapted physical education services to students with intellectual disabilities, autism, traumatic brain injury, orthopedic impairments, or other disabling condition.
- Assess students' physical progress or needs.
- Collaborate with other educational personnel to provide inclusive activities or programs for children with disabilities.
How we measured this — and how fresh it is
AI's theoretical reach data: 2023
From GPTs-are-GPTs (Eloundou et al.), where GPT-4 rated how much of each task an AI tool could meaningfully speed up. This is the most recent open, commercially-usable occupation-level potential dataset — it dates to 2023. Newer multi-model re-runs exist but swing wildly (one 2026 study saw "high-risk" jobs range 2.7%–51.5% by model) and aren't openly licensed, so we show the stable 2023 baseline and pair it with newer real-world data.
Real-world AI use 2026 report
From the Anthropic Economic Index, which observes how real Claude conversations map onto each occupation's tasks. Published in Anthropic's March 2026 labor-market report, based on usage measured in Aug & Nov 2025 (Sonnet 4 / 4.5).
Task list & ratings O*NET 30.3
Tasks come from O*NET 30.3. Each task's "AI can do / speeds up / still on you" tier uses the real task-level exposure scores from GPTs-are-GPTs (E1 / E2 / E0) — not a guess from keywords.
Sources: O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0) · GPTs-are-GPTs (MIT, 2023) · Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY, Aug & Nov 2025). Page compiled June 2026. "O*NET" is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor.
This page is for general informational purposes only and is not career, financial, or employment advice. AI exposure reflects research estimates of task overlap, not predictions about any individual's job, employer, or future employment.