Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Men and better-paid white-collar workers’ jobs more likely to be affected by AI, research suggests

Men and better-paid white-collar workers’ jobs more likely to be affected by AI, research suggests

The AI revolution could affect work in nearly every occupation, but certain demographics will be impacted more, research from the Brookings Institution suggests. Men, over-represented in both analytical, technical and professional roles as well as production, work in occupations with much higher AI exposure
Earlier waves of automation may have already taken the most repetitive jobs from the hands of factory workers, but the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution is likely to most affect better-educated and better-paid white-collar workers, many of them men, according to a study released on Wednesday.

Brookings Institution researchers overlaid keywords in AI-related patents with job descriptions listed in the US government’s official occupational database to measure each jobs’ varying levels of “exposure” to AI applications in the near future.

The findings showed that AI could affect work in virtually every occupational group. A previous analysis by Stanford University PhD candidate Michael Webb, who developed the technique used in the Brookings researchers’ study, found that 740 out of 769 occupational descriptions analysed contained one or more of tasks that could potentially be exposed to, complemented by or completed by AI.

While research on automation’s robotics and software continues to show that less-educated, lower-wage workers may be most vulnerable to displacement, the Washington-based institute’s latest analysis showed that AI will be a significant factor in the future work lives of relatively well-paid managers, supervisors and analysts.

Bachelor’s degree holders were the most exposed to AI by education level, more than five times as much as workers with just a high school degree, while those with graduate or professional degrees were four times more exposed than high school degree holders.

“Unlike robotics (associated with the factory floor) and computers (associated with routine office activities), AI has a distinctly white-collar bent,” the researchers said in the report.

“While earlier waves of automation have led to disruption across the lower half of the wage distribution, AI appears likely to have different impacts, with its own windfalls and challenges. White-collar, well-paid America – radiologists, legal professionals, optometrists, and many more – will likely get no free pass on this flavour of digital disruption.”

Skilled factory workers, who are increasingly well-educated in many occupations as well as heavily involved with AI on the shop floor, were also among the groups found to be more exposed to the influence of AI. This may be much less of a factor in the work of lower-paid service workers such as dental assistants and cooks, the researchers said.

Men, over-represented in both analytical, technical and professional roles as well as production, were found to work in occupations with much higher AI exposure scores. Meanwhile, the report said that women’s heavy involvement in “interpersonal” occupations in education, health care support and personal care services appeared to shelter them from the impact of AI development.

Notably, the analysis predicted areas of work in which some kind of impact is expected but not specifically whether AI will substitute existing work, complement it or create entirely new work for humans.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×