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Political Scientists

Political Scientists score 48 out of 100, which is elevated exposure to AI. That ranks #285 of 923 US occupations, where #1 is the most exposed. Of the 14 tasks in this job, AI could speed up 1 on its own and 12 more with extra software built on top of it. In April–May 2026, 9 of these tasks showed up in real conversations with Claude, Anthropic's AI assistant.

48/ 100
Elevated
Rank
#285of 923 jobs
US workers
5,540BLS, May 2025
Median pay
$142,080a year
In real AI use
9 of 14tasks, April–May 2026

Task by task

Each task this job involves, as listed by O*NET, rated on whether a large language model like GPT-4 could cut the time it takes by at least half at the same quality. Tasks marked Seen in real AI use appeared in conversations with Claude in April–May 2026 (Anthropic Economic Index).

  • AI can speed this up on its own: 1 (7%)
  • AI can speed this up with extra software: 12 (86%)
  • Little or no AI speed-up: 1 (7%)
  • Write drafts of legislative proposals, and prepare speeches, correspondence, and policy papers for governmental use.AI can speed this up on its own · supplemental task · Seen in real AI use
  • Teach political science.AI can speed this up with extra software · core task
  • Maintain current knowledge of government policy decisions.AI can speed this up with extra software · core task
  • Develop and test theories, using information from interviews, newspapers, periodicals, case law, historical papers, polls, or statistical sources.AI can speed this up with extra software · core task
  • Disseminate research results through academic publications, written reports, or public presentations.AI can speed this up with extra software · core task
  • Advise political science students.AI can speed this up with extra software · core task · Seen in real AI use
  • Collect, analyze, and interpret data, such as election results and public opinion surveys, reporting on findings, recommendations, and conclusions.AI can speed this up with extra software · core task · Seen in real AI use
  • Interpret and analyze policies, public issues, legislation, or the operations of governments, businesses, and organizations.AI can speed this up with extra software · core task · Seen in real AI use
  • Identify issues for research and analysis.AI can speed this up with extra software · core task · Seen in real AI use
  • Forecast political, economic, and social trends.AI can speed this up with extra software · core task · Seen in real AI use
  • Consult with and advise government officials, civic bodies, research agencies, the media, political parties, and others concerned with political issues.AI can speed this up with extra software · supplemental task · Seen in real AI use
  • Evaluate programs and policies, and make related recommendations to institutions and organizations.AI can speed this up with extra software · supplemental task · Seen in real AI use
  • Provide media commentary or criticism related to public policy and political issues and events.AI can speed this up with extra software · supplemental task · Seen in real AI use
  • Serve on committees.Little or no AI speed-up · core task

Similar jobs, lower exposure

Related occupations that score at least 10 points lower.

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Life, Physical, and Social Science occupations close to this one.

How to read this score. Exposure measures how much of the work AI could speed up, not whether the job will disappear. A highly exposed job can change shape, with people spending less time on routine tasks and more on the rest. The score counts tasks AI can speed up on its own in full, and tasks that need extra software at half weight.

The ratings come from published research based on GPT-4 (2023). To show what's happening now, each task is also checked against the latest Anthropic Economic Index, which records which tasks people actually use AI for. That data is refreshed automatically when Anthropic publishes a new release. Read the full method.

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