ABOVE AVERAGE IS OVER:

This modified view is based on a novel research technique developed by a Stanford PhD student in economics named Michael Webb, who built his own algorithm to compare language from 16,400 AI patents with the specific words used to describe 769 different jobs in the government's official occupational database, known as O*NET.

For example, Webb unearthed verb-object combinations in patents related to marketing that included "measure, effectiveness"; "analyze, data"; "identify, markets"; and "monitor statistics." To a considerable extent, these terms mirror those found on O*NET to explain what a marketing specialist does. Among them: "measure the effectiveness of marketing, advertising, and communications programs and strategies," "collect and analyze data on customer demographics, preferences, needs, and buying habits to identify potential markets," and "monitor industry statistics and follow trends in trade literature."

Such a high degree of overlap between the two sets of texts indicates that AI is poised to have a significant impact on a particular occupation.

In all, according to Brookings, some 25 million workers in the U.S. stand to be touched the most by AI. That's about 15% of the nation's labor force.

In addition to marketing specialists, the jobs where AI is expected to make the furthest inroads in the foreseeable future are sales managers, computer programmers, and personal financial advisers. Across these four fields, workers earn an average of $104,000 a year.

Employees with bachelor's degrees are seven times more exposed to AI than those with just a high school diploma, Brookings says. And Asian-American and white workers look to be far more subject to the changes brought by AI than are Hispanics or African Americans.

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