Will AI replace Bioinformatics Scientists?
On paper, AI could touch ~71% of the work in Bioinformatics Scientists — and unlike most jobs, it's already showing up in the real workday, not just the theory.
O*NET-SOC 19-1029
How your 63 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 high share of this job's tasks (~71%). By late 2025, real-world AI use had reached about 25% of its task activity (already common). 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 high (~71%), but real-world use is only ~25%, 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 63 tasks, ratedBased on real task-level AI scores — click to collapse
- Develop new software applications or customize existing applications to meet specific scientific project needs.
- Create novel computational approaches and analytical tools as required by research goals.
- Develop data models and databases.
- Design and apply bioinformatics algorithms including unsupervised and supervised machine learning, dynamic programming, or graphic algorithms.
- Create or modify web-based bioinformatics tools.
- Maintain accurate laboratory records and data.
- Write grant applications to obtain funding.
- Prepare or review reports, manuscripts, or meeting presentations.
- Maintain laboratory notebooks that record research methods, procedures, and results.
- Write grants and papers or attend fundraising events to seek research funds.
- Create or use statistical models for the analysis of genetic data.
- Confer with information technology specialists to develop computer applications for genetic data analysis.
- Program and use computers to store, process, and analyze data.
- Communicate test results to state and federal representatives and general public.
- Prepare requests for proposals or statements of work.
- Communicate research results through conference presentations, scientific publications, or project reports.
- Consult with researchers to analyze problems, recommend technology-based solutions, or determine computational strategies.
- Analyze large molecular datasets, such as raw microarray data, genomic sequence data, or proteomics data, for clinical or basic research purposes.
- Keep abreast of new biochemistries, instrumentation, or software by reading scientific literature and attending professional conferences.
- Compile data for use in activities, such as gene expression profiling, genome annotation, or structural bioinformatics.
- Manipulate publicly accessible, commercial, or proprietary genomic, proteomic, or post-genomic databases.
- Direct the work of technicians and information technology staff applying bioinformatics tools or applications in areas such as proteomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, or clinical bioinformatics.
- Provide statistical and computational tools for biologically based activities, such as genetic analysis, measurement of gene expression, or gene function determination.
- Design molecular or cellular laboratory experiments, oversee their execution, and interpret results.
- Conduct research on cell organization and function, including mechanisms of gene expression, cellular bioinformatics, cell signaling, or cell differentiation.
- Instruct undergraduate and graduate students within the areas of cellular or molecular biology.
- Direct, coordinate, organize, or prioritize biological laboratory activities.
- Compile and analyze molecular or cellular experimental data and adjust experimental designs as necessary.
- Evaluate new technologies to enhance or complement current research.
- Provide scientific direction for project teams regarding the evaluation or handling of devices, drugs, or cells for in vitro and in vivo disease models.
- Conduct applied research aimed at improvements in areas such as disease testing, crop quality, pharmaceuticals, and the harnessing of microbes to recycle waste.
- Develop guidelines for procedures such as the management of viruses.
- Develop assays that monitor cell characteristics.
- Coordinate molecular or cellular research activities with scientists specializing in other fields.
- Verify all financial, physical, and human resources assigned to research or development projects are used as planned.
- Supervise or direct the work of other geneticists, biologists, technicians, or biometricians working on genetics research projects.
- Plan or conduct basic genomic and biological research related to areas such as regulation of gene expression, protein interactions, metabolic networks, and nucleic acid or protein complexes.
- Prepare results of experimental findings for presentation at professional conferences or in scientific journals.
- Search scientific literature to select and modify methods and procedures most appropriate for genetic research goals.
- Review, approve, or interpret genetic laboratory results.
- Attend clinical and research conferences and read scientific literature to keep abreast of technological advances and current genetic research findings.
- Evaluate genetic data by performing appropriate mathematical or statistical calculations and analyses.
- Analyze determinants responsible for specific inherited traits, and devise methods for altering traits or producing new traits.
- Collaborate with biologists and other professionals to conduct appropriate genetic and biochemical analyses.
- Instruct medical students, graduate students, or others in methods or procedures for diagnosis and management of genetic disorders.
- Develop protocols to improve existing genetic techniques or to incorporate new diagnostic procedures.
- Prepare technical and research reports, such as environmental impact reports, and communicate the results to individuals in industry, government, or the general public.
- Collect and analyze biological data about relationships among and between organisms and their environment.
- Identify, classify, and study structure, behavior, ecology, physiology, nutrition, culture, and distribution of plant and animal species.
- Study basic principles of plant and animal life, such as origin, relationship, development, anatomy, and function.
- Review reports and proposals, such as those relating to land use classifications and recreational development, for accuracy, adequacy, or adherence to policies, regulations, or scientific standards.
- Perform laboratory procedures following protocols including deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequencing, cloning and extraction, ribonucleic acid (RNA) purification, or gel electrophoresis.
- Supervise technical personnel and postdoctoral research fellows.
- Monitor or operate specialized equipment, such as gas chromatographs and high pressure liquid chromatographs, electrophoresis units, thermocyclers, fluorescence activated cell sorters, and phosphorimagers.
- Evaluate new supplies and equipment to ensure operability in specific laboratory settings.
- Extract deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or perform diagnostic tests involving processes such as gel electrophoresis, Southern blot analysis, and polymerase chain reaction analysis.
- Maintain laboratory safety programs and train personnel in laboratory safety techniques.
- Verify that cytogenetic, molecular genetic, and related equipment and instrumentation is maintained in working condition to ensure accuracy and quality of experimental results.
- Design sampling plans or coordinate the field collection of samples such as tissue specimens.
- Develop and maintain liaisons and effective working relations with groups and individuals, agencies, and the public to encourage cooperative management strategies or to develop information and interpret findings.
- Supervise biological technicians and technologists and other scientists.
- Represent employer in a technical capacity at conferences.
- Develop methods and apparatus for securing representative plant, animal, aquatic, or soil samples.
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.