Will AI replace Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists?
AI can do 78% of the work Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists do at least twice as fast. People already use it for 2 of their 26 tasks, while 17 more are ready but barely used so far. Robots can technically handle 2 physical tasks. 5 still need a person.
AI is already doing this2 · 4% of time
People already use AI for these tasks in real work, based on Anthropic's analysis of how Claude is used.
- Analyze complex systems to determine potential for further development, production, interoperability, compatibility, or usefulness in a particular area, such as aviation.Mostly automated3% of time
- Investigate theoretical or conceptual issues, such as the human design considerations of lunar landers or habitats.Mostly automated1% of time
AI could do this next17 · 74% of time
AI can speed these up by at least half, but real use has not caught up yet. These are next in line.
- Prepare reports or presentations summarizing results or conclusions of human factors engineering or ergonomics activities, such as testing, investigation, or validation.10% of time
- Design or evaluate human work systems, using human factors engineering and ergonomic principles to optimize usability, cost, quality, safety, or performance.8% of time
- Conduct interviews or surveys of users or customers to collect information on topics, such as requirements, needs, fatigue, ergonomics, or interfaces.6% of time
- Assess the user-interface or usability characteristics of products.6% of time
- Collect data through direct observation of work activities or witnessing the conduct of tests.6% of time
- Write, review, or comment on documents, such as proposals, test plans, or procedures.5% of time
- Recommend workplace changes to improve health and safety, using knowledge of potentially harmful factors, such as heavy loads or repetitive motions.5% of time
- Perform functional, task, or anthropometric analysis, using tools, such as checklists, surveys, videotaping, or force measurement.5% of time
- Provide technical support to clients through activities, such as rearranging workplace fixtures to reduce physical hazards or discomfort or modifying task sequences to reduce cycle time.4% of time
- Conduct research to evaluate potential solutions related to changes in equipment design, procedures, manpower, personnel, or training.4% of time
- Perform statistical analyses, such as social network pattern analysis, network modeling, discrete event simulation, agent-based modeling, statistical natural language processing, computational sociology, mathematical optimization, or systems dynamics.3% of time
- Establish system operating or training requirements to ensure optimized human-machine interfaces.3% of time
- Develop or implement human performance research, investigation, or analysis protocols.3% of time
- Develop or implement research methodologies or statistical analysis plans to test and evaluate developmental prototypes used in new products or processes, such as cockpit designs, user workstations, or computerized human models.3% of time
- Estimate time or resource requirements for ergonomic or human factors research or development projects.1% of time
- Design cognitive aids, such as procedural storyboards or decision support systems.1% of time
- Apply modeling or quantitative analysis to forecast events, such as human decisions or behaviors, the structure or processes of organizations, or the attitudes or actions of human groups.1% of time
Robots can technically do this2 · 5% of time
Physical tasks that today's robots can perform in at least some settings. Robots are cost competitive for very few tasks so far, so this change moves slower.
- Inspect work sites to identify physical hazards.Robots: structured workplaces4% of time
- Operate testing equipment, such as heat stress meters, octave band analyzers, motion analysis equipment, inclinometers, light meters, thermoanemometers, sling psychrometers, or colorimetric detection tubes.Robots: structured workplaces1% of time
Still needs a person5 · 17% of time
No real AI use, no proven AI speedup and no robot that can do it yet. This is the part of the job to build on.
- Advocate for end users in collaboration with other professionals, including engineers, designers, managers, or customers.5% of time
- Train users in task techniques or ergonomic principles.4% of time
- Review health, safety, accident, or worker compensation records to evaluate safety program effectiveness or to identify jobs with high incidence of injury.3% of time
- Provide human factors technical expertise on topics, such as advanced user-interface technology development or the role of human users in automated or autonomous sub-systems in advanced vehicle systems.3% of time
- Integrate human factors requirements into operational hardware.3% of time
Your week is not the average
Describe what you actually do and get a personal report: your own tasks, what AI can already do, what stays yours and a 90 day plan.
What this means
AI can already do almost all of this work at least twice as fast. Real use is still behind at 3 out of 100, so the change here is only getting started. Expect the role to shift toward deciding what to do, checking AI's work and owning the result.
What to do next
- Do the 2 tasks AI is already handling with AI yourself. Your peers already are, and it is quickly becoming the baseline.
- Get ahead on the 17 tasks AI could do next. These move as tools improve, so learning them early pays off.
- Keep an eye on the 2 physical tasks robots can technically do. Cost keeps most robots out of work today, so this shift is slower.
- Build on the 5 tasks that stay human. This is where your judgment, skill and relationships matter most.
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