Will AI replace Natural Sciences Managers?
In theory, AI could do about 57% of the work in Natural Sciences Managers. In practice, as of late 2025, almost no one is actually using it that way — yet.
O*NET-SOC 11-9121
How your 60 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 (~57%). By late 2025, real-world AI use had reached about 6% 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 (~57%), but real-world use is only ~6%, 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 60 tasks, ratedBased on real task-level AI scores — click to collapse
- Prepare project proposals.
- Conduct own research in field of expertise.
- Prepare study-related documentation, such as protocol worksheets, procedural manuals, adverse event reports, institutional review board documents, or progress reports.
- Code, evaluate, or interpret collected study data.
- Maintain contact with sponsors to schedule and coordinate site visits or to answer questions about issues such as incomplete data.
- Develop advertising and other informational materials to be used in subject recruitment.
- Write proposals, project reports, informational brochures, or other documents on wastewater purification, water supply and demand, or other water resource subjects.
- Hire, supervise, or evaluate engineers, technicians, researchers, or other staff.
- Design or coordinate successive phases of problem analysis, solution proposals, or testing.
- Plan or direct research, development, or production activities.
- Review project activities and prepare and review research, testing, or operational reports.
- Confer with scientists, engineers, regulators, or others to plan or review projects or to provide technical assistance.
- Develop client relationships and communicate with clients to explain proposals, present research findings, establish specifications, or discuss project status.
- Determine scientific or technical goals within broad outlines provided by top management and make detailed plans to accomplish these goals.
- Develop or implement policies, standards, or procedures for the architectural, scientific, or technical work performed to ensure regulatory compliance or operations enhancement.
- Recruit personnel or oversee the development or maintenance of staff competence.
- Prepare and administer budgets, approve and review expenditures, and prepare financial reports.
- Develop innovative technology or train staff for its implementation.
- Make presentations at professional meetings to further knowledge in the field.
- Schedule subjects for appointments, procedures, or inpatient stays as required by study protocols.
- Assess eligibility of potential subjects through methods such as screening interviews, reviews of medical records, or discussions with physicians and nurses.
- Inform patients or caregivers about study aspects and outcomes to be expected.
- Record adverse event and side effect data and confer with investigators regarding the reporting of events to oversight agencies.
- Monitor study activities to ensure compliance with protocols and with all relevant local, federal, and state regulatory and institutional polices.
- Oversee subject enrollment to ensure that informed consent is properly obtained and documented.
- Maintain required records of study activity including case report forms, drug dispensation records, or regulatory forms.
- Identify protocol problems, inform investigators of problems, or assist in problem resolution efforts, such as protocol revisions.
- Review proposed study protocols to evaluate factors such as sample collection processes, data management plans, or potential subject risks.
- Collaborate with investigators to prepare presentations or reports of clinical study procedures, results, and conclusions.
- Track enrollment status of subjects and document dropout information such as dropout causes and subject contact efforts.
- Instruct research staff in scientific and procedural aspects of studies including standards of care, informed consent procedures, or documentation procedures.
- Prepare for or participate in quality assurance audits conducted by study sponsors, federal agencies, or specially designated review groups.
- Order drugs or devices necessary for study completion.
- Contact outside health care providers and communicate with subjects to obtain follow-up information.
- Participate in the development of study protocols including guidelines for administration or data collection procedures.
- Confer with health care professionals to determine the best recruitment practices for studies.
- Communicate with laboratories or investigators regarding laboratory findings.
- Review scientific literature, participate in continuing education activities, or attend conferences and seminars to maintain current knowledge of clinical studies affairs and issues.
- Perform hydrologic, hydraulic, or water quality modeling.
- Analyze storm water systems to identify opportunities for water resource improvements.
- Conduct, or oversee the conduct of, investigations on matters such as water storage, wastewater discharge, pollutants, permits, or other compliance and regulatory issues.
- Develop strategies for watershed operations to meet water supply and conservation goals or to ensure regulatory compliance with clean water laws or regulations.
- Conduct technical studies for water resources on topics such as pollutants and water treatment options.
- Review or evaluate designs for water detention facilities, storm drains, flood control facilities, or other hydraulic structures.
- Present water resource proposals to government, public interest groups, or community groups.
- Develop plans to protect watershed health or rehabilitate watersheds.
- Conduct cost-benefit studies for watershed improvement projects or water management alternatives.
- Provide technical expertise to assist communities in the development or implementation of storm water monitoring or other water programs.
- Compile and maintain documentation on the health of a body of water.
- Identify and characterize specific causes or sources of water pollution.
- Conduct, or oversee the conduct of, chemical, physical, and biological water quality monitoring or sampling to ensure compliance with water quality standards.
- Compile water resource data, using geographic information systems (GIS) or global position systems (GPS) software.
- Recommend new or revised policies, procedures, or regulations to support water resource or conservation goals.
- Develop or implement standardized water monitoring and assessment methods.
- Negotiate for water rights with communities or water facilities to meet water supply demands.
- Monitor water use, demand, or quality in a particular geographic area.
- Perform specific protocol procedures such as interviewing subjects, taking vital signs, and performing electrocardiograms.
- Direct the requisition, collection, labeling, storage, or shipment of specimens.
- Organize space for study equipment and supplies.
- Supervise teams of workers who capture water from wells and rivers.
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.