Healthcare support workers and physician assistants are projected to have the lowest vulnerability to artificial intelligence among roles in the field, while medical secretaries and administrative assistants may face higher vulnerability, The Washington Post reported March 16.
The predictions come from researchers at GovAI, which studies technology policy, and Brookings Institute, a think tank. The groups created a tool to estimate which roles may be most and least able to adapt to AI.
There has been significant disagreement on AI’s potential effects on the workforce. While the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas has said it is unlikely AI will replace jobs in the next decade, prominent CEOs have predicted the technology will replace millions of roles in the near future, the Post reported.
Forecasts about AI and the labor market — such as healthcare — should be taken seriously but not literally, the Post reported. While there is no measurable evidence that AI is replacing Americans’ jobs, white-collar roles may be first in line for AI-related disruptions.
Across industries, AI was the second-most-common reason cited for layoffs in October, according to a report released in November. Healthcare, however, has largely avoided AI-driven job cuts.
The GovAI researchers began by measuring more than 350 occupations’ AI exposure — defined as how many job-related tasks a worker could perform more efficiently than AI. Researchers then attempted to quantify how easily workers in those roles could shift to other jobs if AI replaced their positions.
Below are healthcare roles categorized by their vulnerability to AI, according to the interactive tool. This list is not exhaustive of all roles within hospitals and health systems.
Lowest vulnerability
- Other healthcare support workers
- Physician assistants
- Surgical technologists
Low vulnerability
- Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians
- Emergency medical technicians
- Home health and personal care aides
- Miscellaneous health technologists and technicians
- Nurse practitioners and nurse midwives
- Nursing assistants
- Occupational health and safety specialists and technicians
- Other healthcare practitioners and technical occupations
- Physicians
- Registered nurses
High vulnerability
- Healthcare social workers
- Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
- Medical and health services managers
- Medical records specialists
- Pharmacy technicians
- Psychiatric technicians
- Radiologic technologists and technicians
- Substance abuse, behavioral disorder and mental health counselors
Highest vulnerability
- Medical secretaries and administrative assistants
The post The healthcare roles least, most vulnerable to AI: Washington Post appeared first on Becker's Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis.
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