Will AI replace Civil Engineers?
The Stanford WORKBank study rates tasks, not whole jobs, so it cannot say whether any one job disappears. What it shows: AI experts rate 1 of the 5 studied Civil Engineers tasks as do-able by AI today, and 0 of those are tasks workers also want automated. Only 5 tasks were studied for this role, so treat the share as a rough signal.
of tasks in the Civil Engineers role are ones AI can already do, per AI experts.
From a Stanford study where AI experts and civil engineers workers rated each real task (O*NET). Not a guess from the job title.
Key statistics
Free to cite, with a link back to Automatable.
- AI can already do 20% of the 5 work tasks in the Civil Engineers role, according to AI experts in the Stanford WORKBank study (O*NET SOC 17-2051.00).
- Workers in the Civil Engineers role rate 60% of their tasks 3 or higher out of 5 for wanting them automated (Stanford WORKBank, 1,500 U.S. workers).
- 0 of 5 Civil Engineers tasks are Automation Green Light, wanted by workers and do-able by AI, that is 0% of the role (Stanford WORKBank).
- The typical Civil Engineers task scores 3.08/5 for worker desire to automate and 3.27/5 for AI capability today (Stanford WORKBank, 1-5 scale).
- The Civil Engineers role (O*NET SOC 17-2051.00) has a median U.S. wage of $107,050 and about 355,410 people employed (U.S. O*NET / BLS).
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What workers told Stanford
Of the 5 tasks studied for Civil Engineers, 0 (0%) are in the Automation Green Light zone, AI can largely do them and workers want it. Across all tasks, workers rate 60% of their tasks 3 or higher out of 5 for wanting them automated. The typical task scores 3.08/5 for worker desire and 3.27/5 for AI capability.
All 5 tasks, most-wanted first
Design energy-efficient or environmentally sound civil structures.
R&D Opportunitywant 3.67 · AI 3Estimate quantities and cost of materials, equipment, or labor to determine project feasibility.
R&D Opportunitywant 3.25 · AI 3Plan and design transportation or hydraulic systems or structures, using computer-assisted design or drawing tools.
R&D Opportunitywant 3 · AI 3Compute load and grade requirements, water flow rates, or material stress factors to determine design specifications.
Low Prioritywant 2.89 · AI 3.33Analyze survey reports, maps, drawings, blueprints, aerial photography, or other topographical or geologic data.
Red Lightwant 2.57 · AI 4
Related occupations
Other Architecture and Engineering roles in the Stanford WORKBank study, closest AI-capability share first.
- Aerospace EngineersAI can do 20% of tasks today · workers want 100% automated
- Mechanical Engineering Technologists and TechniciansAI can do 20% of tasks today · workers want 60% automated
- Petroleum EngineersAI can do 29% of tasks today · workers want 100% automated
- Architectural and Civil DraftersAI can do 50% of tasks today · workers want 50% automated
Lower-automation alternatives
Less of these jobs is automatable today: AI experts rate a smaller share of their tasks as doable than the 20% for Civil Engineers (Stanford WORKBank).
Civil Engineers ranks #81 of 104 studied roles by the share of tasks AI experts rate as do-able today. See which roles top and bottom the list in the most automatable jobs in 2026.