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Will AI replace Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary?

In theory, AI could do about 52% of the work in Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary. In practice, as of late 2025, almost no one is actually using it that way — yet.

The Sleeping Giant High AI potential the world hasn't tapped yet.

O*NET-SOC 25-1053

How your 21 core tasks split

81% within AI's reach
6 AI can do this now
11 AI speeds this up
4 Still on you
AI could do · GPT-4 study
52%
50-pt gap
AI actually does · 2026 report
2%

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.

⚡ The short answer

Back in 2023, GPT-4 judged AI could, in theory, assist with a moderate share of this job's tasks (~52%). By late 2025, real-world AI use had reached about 2% 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

Being automatedTicking (can, but unused)Relatively safeQuietly happeningYOU0%50%100%0%40%75% → How much AI could do (theory) → How much AI is actually used (late 2025)

Each dot is one of 738 U.S. jobs. Right = AI can do more of it. Up = AI is actually used more.

Lowconfidence

Don't trust a single AI-risk score here

For this job, the signals disagree sharply. AI's theoretical reach looks moderate (~52%), but real-world use is only ~2%, 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 21 tasks, ratedBased on real task-level AI scores — click to collapse
AI can already do this6 of 21
  • Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
  • Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
  • Write letters of recommendation for students.
  • Write grant proposals to procure external research funding.
  • Review papers or serve on editorial boards for scientific journals, and review grant proposals for various agencies.
  • Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments.
AI speeds this up11 of 21
  • Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory work, assignments, and papers.
  • Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.
  • Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
  • Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
  • Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction.
  • Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
  • Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
  • Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
  • Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as hazardous waste management, industrial safety, and environmental toxicology.
  • Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks and laboratory equipment.
  • Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.
Still on you4 of 21
  • Supervise students' laboratory and field work.
  • Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
  • Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
  • Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.

My job is a Sleeping Giant 😴

Looks safe today. The potential says otherwise.

Theoretical estimate · not a prediction · gistgarden.com

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.