Microsoft Paper Warns AI Could Make Historians Extinct But Leave Embalmers Alone, Here's A List You Want To See
Microsoft's recent study highlights jobs most and least affected by generative AI. It identifies 40 occupations at high risk, including telemarketers and data scientists, while low-risk jobs involve physical work, such as cement masons and surgical assistants. The report warns of potential job displacement, with economist Craig Shapiro predicting up to 25% of U.S. jobs at risk by 2030. However, some experts, like Palantir's CTO Shyam Sankar, argue AI enhances creativity and productivity, while concerns remain about its impact on entry-level positions.
A new paper from Microsoft Corp. MSFT outlines which jobs are most likely to be disrupted by generative AI and which ones are least affected.
What Happened: Last week, Microsoft released a study titled “Working with AI: Measuring the Occupational Implications of Generative AI.” The paper identified 40 occupations with high AI applicability—meaning AI can perform a large portion of their tasks—and 40 with low applicability, where AI has minimal impact.
Here is the list of 10 jobs most at risk from AI, and 10 considered most secure:
Other jobs that are at risk include telemarketers, political scientists, technical writers, news analysts, market research analysts, proofreaders, data scientists, advertising sales agents, management analysts, geographers, library science teachers, and new accounts clerks. Even creative and analytical roles like editors, demonstrators, and postsecondary economics teachers are flagged.
Conversely, jobs involving physical work, manual dexterity, and real-world presence are less exposed. Other low-risk jobs include cement masons, dishwashers, surgical assistants, gas pump operators, pile driver operators, ophthalmic medical technicians, dredge operators, roustabouts, orderlies, bridge and lock tenders, and logging equipment operators.
The report was authored by Kiran Tomlinson, a senior researcher at Microsoft; Sonia Jaffe, a principal researcher at Microsoft; Will Wang, a pre-doctoral research assistant; Scott Counts, a senior principal research manager; and Siddharth Suri, a senior principal researcher at Microsoft.
Why It Matters: The study’s findings align with the warnings of economist Craig Shapiro, who in June 2025 cautioned that AI-driven job displacement is creating a structural labor crisis that traditional monetary tools cannot address. With up to 25% of U.S. jobs potentially at risk by 2030, Shapiro called for fiscal and regulatory responses.
However, not everyone shares this pessimistic view. Shyam Sankar, the Chief Technology Officer of Palantir Technologies Inc. PLTR, argued that AI is unlocking new levels of creativity and productivity for America’s workforce, not replacing it.
Meanwhile, Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, has raised concerns over the disruptive impact of AI on entry-level jobs, especially for new college graduates, amid rising unemployment.
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