Will AI replace Slaughterers and Meat Packers?

AI can do 0% of the work Slaughterers and Meat Packers do at least twice as fast. None of their 14 tasks show real AI use yet. Robots can technically handle 8 physical tasks. 6 still need a person.

AI is already doing this0 · 0% of time

People already use AI for these tasks in real work, based on Anthropic's analysis of how Claude is used.

  • Real AI use has not reached any of this job's tasks yet.

AI could do this next0 · 0% of time

AI can speed these up by at least half, but real use has not caught up yet. These are next in line.

  • No other tasks in this job can be sped up by AI today.

Robots can technically do this8 · 65% 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.

  • Remove bones, and cut meat into standard cuts in preparation for marketing.Robots: purpose built settings23% of time
  • Tend assembly lines, performing a few of the many cuts needed to process a carcass.Robots: structured workplaces20% of time
  • Saw, split, or scribe carcasses into smaller portions to facilitate handling.Robots: purpose built settings6% of time
  • Shave or singe and defeather carcasses, and wash them in preparation for further processing or packaging.Robots: purpose built settings4% of time
  • Grind meat into hamburger, and into trimmings used to prepare sausages, luncheon meats, and other meat products.Robots: purpose built settings4% of time
  • Wrap dressed carcasses or meat cuts.Robots: purpose built settings4% of time
  • Stun animals prior to slaughtering.Robots: purpose built settings3% of time
  • Trim, clean, or cure animal hides.Robots: purpose built settings1% of time

Still needs a person6 · 35% 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.

  • Slit open, eviscerate, and trim carcasses of slaughtered animals.13% of time
  • Skin sections of animals or whole animals.8% of time
  • Cut, trim, skin, sort, and wash viscera of slaughtered animals to separate edible portions from offal.6% of time
  • Shackle hind legs of animals to raise them for slaughtering or skinning.4% of time
  • Sever jugular veins to drain blood and facilitate slaughtering.3% of time
  • Trim head meat, and sever or remove parts of animals' heads or skulls.3% of time

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What this means

Little of this work suits AI. The bigger change here is robots: today's robots can technically do 65% of the working time, though they are rarely cheap enough to replace people yet.

What to do next

  • Keep an eye on the 8 physical tasks robots can technically do. Cost keeps most robots out of work today, so this shift is slower.
  • Build on the 6 tasks that stay human. This is where your judgment, skill and relationships matter most.
Butchers and Meat Cutters1%Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers0%Bakers5%Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders5%Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders6%Food Batchmakers11%

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