Chemical engineers
An AI agent can at least partly carry out 88.9% of the task time of chemical engineers, and finish 0.0% alone. The barrier that holds most of the rest back is access to the systems the work runs on.
72nd of 433 · interval 69.3–100.0
201st of 433 · interval 0.0–0.0
109th of 433 · interval 46.3–58.4
task statements rated by two models and weighted by importance and frequency. World employment: 0.4 million.
How the tasks rate
What stops the agent
Share of task weight flagged by each barrier; a task can carry several.
| Task statement (O*NET occupation) | Weight | Level | Sonnet · Haiku | Share | Human time | Barriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monitor and analyze data from processes and experiments.Chemical Engineers | 12.9% | L2 | L2L2 | 62% | 1.8 h | Access to systems |
| Troubleshoot problems with chemical manufacturing processes.Chemical Engineers | 11.0% | L2 | L2L2 | 50% | 4.0 h | Physical presence, Accountability, Access to systems |
| Evaluate chemical equipment and processes to identify ways to optimize performance or to ensure compliance with safety and environmental regulations.Chemical Engineers | 10.3% | L2 | L2L2 | 52% | 6.0 h | Physical presence, Accountability, Access to systems |
| Perform tests and monitor performance of processes throughout stages of production to determine degree of control over variables such as temperature, density, specific gravity, and pressure.Chemical Engineers | 8.3% | L2 | L2L2 | 45% | 2.5 h | Physical presence, Accountability, Access to systems |
| Develop safety procedures to be employed by workers operating equipment or working in close proximity to ongoing chemical reactions.Chemical Engineers | 7.5% | L2 | L2L2 | 62% | 6.0 h | Physical presence, Accountability, Trust and care, Access to systems |
| Conduct research to develop new and improved chemical manufacturing processes.Chemical Engineers | 7.5% | L2 | L2L2 | 48% | 22 h | Physical presence, Access to systems |
| Prepare estimate of production costs and production progress reports for management.Chemical Engineers | 7.0% | L2 | L2L2 | 70% | 4.0 h | Access to systems |
| Direct activities of workers who operate or are engaged in constructing and improving absorption, evaporation, or electromagnetic equipment.Chemical Engineers | 6.1% | L1 | L1L2 | 32% | 2.5 h | Physical presence, Accountability, Trust and care, Access to systems |
| Design and plan layout of equipment.Chemical Engineers | 5.7% | L2 | L2L2 | 50% | 6.0 h | Physical presence, Accountability, Access to systems |
| Perform laboratory studies of steps in manufacture of new products and test proposed processes in small-scale operation, such as a pilot plant.Chemical Engineers | 5.1% | L1 | L1L2 | 25% | 22 h | Physical presence, Accountability, Access to systems |
| Develop computer models of chemical processes.Chemical Engineers | 4.9% | L2 | L2L2 | 62% | 24 h | Access to systems |
| Determine most effective arrangement of operations such as mixing, crushing, heat transfer, distillation, and drying.Chemical Engineers | 4.8% | L2 | L2L2 | 58% | 6.0 h | Accountability, Access to systems |
| Develop processes to separate components of liquids or gases or generate electrical currents, using controlled chemical processes.Chemical Engineers | 4.8% | L2 | L2L2 | 55% | 24 h | Physical presence, Accountability, Access to systems |
| Design measurement and control systems for chemical plants based on data collected in laboratory experiments and in pilot plant operations.Chemical Engineers | 4.2% | L2 | L2L2 | 55% | 22 h | Accountability, Access to systems |
Level: consensus of the two models (the lower level when they disagree). Share: part of the task’s working time an agent could take over. Human time: minutes a competent person needs for one instance, as estimated by the models.
Exposure is not delegation
| Measure | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| ADI (this index) | 88.9% | 84 |
| Eloundou et al. (2024), GPT exposure β | 0.467 | 70 |
| Felten et al. (2021), AI occupational exposure | 1.341 | 96 |
| Webb (2020), AI patent exposure | 100 | 99 |
| Eisfeldt et al. (2026), generative AI exposure | 0.346 | 72 |
| Anthropic Economic Index, observed use | 0 | 16 |
Earlier indices measure whether AI can touch a task; ADI measures how much of it an agent can carry out from a goal. – : the source does not cover this occupation.
Neighbouring occupations
| Occupation | ADI | % |
|---|---|---|
| Graphic and multimedia designers 2166 | 96.8 | |
| Mathematicians, actuaries and statisticians 2120 | 96.5 | |
| Meteorologists 2112 | 94.4 | |
| Electrical engineers 2151 | 91.8 | |
| Building architects 2161 | 91.1 | |
| Telecommunications engineers 2153 | 90.1 | |
| Engineering professionals not elsewhere classified 2149 | 89.4 | |
| Environmental engineers 2143 | 88.6 | |
| Industrial and production engineers 2141 | 87.6 | |
| Electronics engineers 2152 | 85.5 | |
| Mechanical engineers 2144 | 84.9 | |
| Cartographers and surveyors 2165 | 83.7 |
Dashed line: chemical engineers (88.9%).
Espinal Maya, Cristian, and Santiago Jiménez Londoño. 2026. ADI v2026.1: Agent Delegability Index data, code and MCP server. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23552918. Record: Chemical engineers (ISCO-08 2145), https://balamlabs.org/adi/occupations/2145
@misc{espinal2026adidata,
title = {{ADI} v2026.1: Agent Delegability Index data, code and {MCP} server},
author = {Espinal Maya, Cristian and Jim{\'e}nez Londo{\~n}o, Santiago},
year = {2026},
publisher = {Zenodo},
version = {v2026.1},
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.23552918},
url = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23552918},
note = {Record: Chemical engineers (ISCO-08 2145)}
}The same record as static JSON, with its citation: /adi/v2026.1/isco/2145.json.