For the full guide on protecting your career from automation—including strategies for moving into a safer profession, learning how to use AI to upskill and stay competitive, and building your own AI-powered business—purchase How To Protect Your Career From AI and Automation.
Introduction
The rise of artificial intelligence and robotics is reshaping the future of work across nearly every industry. While some jobs appear secure for now, very few will remain entirely safe from automation in the long run. Most roles are only protected temporarily—delayed by current technical limitations, economic barriers, or social resistance—not immune to eventual disruption.
That said, not all jobs face the same level of risk. Certain careers will continue to favor human workers due to emotional, cultural, or interpersonal factors, while others are insulated by regulatory hurdles or the high costs of automation.
Understanding which roles are more resistant to automation can help individuals make smarter career decisions—and prepare for the major shifts still ahead.
Factors That Make Jobs Resistant to Automation
There are multiple factors that influence how susceptible a particular job or industry is to automation. While many of these factors can slow down the adoption of AI and robotics, some will only delay automation or save just a small fraction of jobs from being eliminated—not prevent it entirely.
- Human Preference
In jobs that involve emotional connection or physical presence—like massage therapy, hairdressing, childcare, teaching, and counseling—many clients prefer a human touch over a machine. - Strong Traditions and Cultural Significance
Some professions tied to religion, sports, or cultural heritage—like religious teachers or athletes—are unlikely to be completely replaced. - Lack of Trust in Machines
Many people won’t trust robots to care for children or pets, or to enter their homes for residential trades like plumbing, electrical work, or cleaning. - Regulatory Barriers
Licensing laws and industry standards may legally require human workers in some fields. For example, generally planes must have two pilots, and only licensed lawyers can represent clients in court. - Hands-On and Unpredictable Environments
Jobs in unstable physical settings—such as ships, oil rigs, or construction sites—will require more advanced humanoid robots than those that are currently available. - Cost-Effectiveness
Automation must be economically viable. In low-wage sectors or developing countries, replacing human workers with expensive robots or AI systems is often not worth the investment—at least in the short term.
Personal Services
There are many personal services where human interaction is usually seen as integral to the experience. While all of these services could theoretically be performed by a humanoid robot, it’s likely that many people will still prefer to have them done by another human.
Low Automation Risk:
- Beautician
- Hair stylist/barber
- Massage therapist
- Tour/adventure guide
Moderate Automation Risk:
- Personal trainer/Fitness instructors
- Coaches
Education and Child Care
Teachers and carers of young children are likely at a low risk of automation, because children require human interaction from a young age for healthy development, and many parents will be unwilling to leave their child alone with a robot.
It’s possible that schools will slowly begin to replace some of their teachers with AI tutors, especially high school teachers. However, someone will still be required to watch over the students and provide motivation, so it’s unlikely they will all be replaced anytime soon.
Note: The automation risk for university teachers and online tutors is significantly higher.
Lowest Automation Risk:
- Daycare workers
- Preschool/Primary school teachers
- Special education teachers
- Baby sitters
Social Services
The human element is important in many social services because professionals working in this industry often need to build trust with clients and show genuine empathy to be effective.
However, most paperwork and admin related tasks will eventually be completely automated, therefore many jobs within this industry are still at risk of automation.
Lowest Automation Risk:
- Counselors
- Youth workers
- Social workers (not admin)
Animal Care
Depending on how animals react to humanoid robots, it may be difficult to fully automate work involving caring for animals. Additionally, many people will be unwilling to trust their pets with robots and will prefer to hire a human to look after them.
Low Automation Risk:
- Veterinarians
- Pet sitters and groomers
- Dog walkers
- Animal trainers
- Zookeepers
- Farriers
Healthcare
Some healthcare workers will eventually be replaced by robots, but positions involving providing direct patient care, especially those working with children are unlikely to be completely automated. And even though therapy can be theoretically automated with large language models, most clients will still prefer to talk to a human therapist.
Surgeons and physicians will be partially replaced by AI and robotics. However, because the demand for quality healthcare is extremely high it’s more likely that the increased competition will just drive down wages instead at least in the medium-term.
The careers in this industry that are at the greatest risk of automation are likely those mostly involving diagnostics, such as radiology and optometry, and admin related tasks like medical transcription and phone reception.
Lowest Automation Risk:
- Therapists
- Psychologists
- Pediatricians
- Physiotherapists, chiropractors
- Occupational Therapists
Hospitality
Restaurants, especially those in the fast food industry will slowly begin to automate the food preparation process as robotics become more affordable. The exceptions will be places where interacting with the chef is part of the experience, like food stalls or performance cooking, or simply when the owner of the restaurant prefers to maintain human staff.
Additionally, high end restaurants, cafes and catering services are likely to always retain some human servers even if they could be replaced by humanoid robots, simply because many customers will prefer to interact with human staff.
Lowest Automation Risk:
- Bartenders
- Waitresses/waiters
- Event caterers
Sports and Other Competitions
Even though AI has been undefeated in games like chess for years, many people still gather to watch players compete at the highest level.
Similarly, sports and other competitions are likely to remain a source of entertainment even when humanoid robots are able to outperform humans in every field.
Lowest Automation Risk:
- Athletes
- Competitive fighters
- Race car drivers
- Chess and video game players
- Commentators
Entertainment
Live performers and entertainers will avoid complete automation due to the human element and audience interaction involved in their work. However, less famous people in the entertainment industry may lose work as a result of generative AI creating movies and TV shows without the need for actors.
Lowest Automation Risk:
- Live performers (Music, Theatre, Dance, etc.)
Moderate Automation Risk:
- Actors
- Talk show hosts
- News anchors and field reporters
- Streamers
Sales
Email and even phone sales will soon be heavily automated by AI, as people will soon assume anyone who’s trying to sell them something to them is an AI agent anyway. The only sales professions that are resistant to automation are the ones that involve in-person human interaction.
Lowest Automation Risk:
- Door to door salespeople
- Promoters (people who attract customers to stores and events)
Manual Labor and Skilled Trades
*Please see the Blue Collar Guide for more information.
Humanoid robots and other specialized robots will eventually be able to automate manual labor and skilled trades, but these will take a long time to produce in large numbers, and even then humans will still be able to compete with them, albeit for lower wages.
Industrial workers are more likely to be replaced in the short-term compared to individual tradesmen, as humanoid robots will not be immediately available to the general public to assist with household tasks, instead they will mostly be bought up by large corporations to replace their workers first.
Many people will also be unwilling to let a potentially dangerous robot into their home, and there may be regulations preventing it.
Lowest Automation Risk:
- HVAC technicians
- Plumbers
- Electricians
- Gardeners/landscapers
Religious Services
It’s possible that churches could adopt AI to increase productivity in some areas. However, it may not be widely adopted across all religions, as many are focused on preserving tradition and human interaction, and may distrust modern technology. For example, religious workers like chaplains, missionaries, and pastors are unlikely to be replaced.
Government and Law
These professions are theoretically capable of being fully automated, however some of them may be prevented from doing so depending on regulations, government decisions, and possible safety concerns:
- Politicians
- Diplomats
- Police officers
- Judges
- Military personnel
Handmade Goods
A small market will likely persist for skilled people who create art, sculptures, or other products by hand, just like it exists today even though mass-produced goods are generally more affordable. However, creating handmade goods is unlikely to be a sustainable career path for most people.
Examples include:
- Artists
- Sculptors
- Painters
Adult Entertainment Industry
The development of highly realistic humanoid robots will impact the adult entertainment industry. However, even the most advanced robots will struggle to fully replicate the human connection that many clients seek.
Online entertainers such as cam performers and content creators on platforms like OnlyFans face a higher risk of automation. Advances in deepfake technology and AI-generated content are making it increasingly difficult to distinguish between human creators and AI simulations. This may also impact actors in adult videos.
Additionally, regulatory challenges pose a significant risk for certain roles, such as escorts and other service providers. These factors make careers in this industry inherently uncertain and less stable compared to other fields.
Lowest automation risk:
- Escorts
- Dancers
- GFE (girlfriend-experience) providers