These Jobs Could Benefit From AI Without Being Replaced

Emergency medical technicians do not have to worry about AI replacing them, along with most medical professions, according to a September 2026 labor report. Following predictions of 300 million jobs replaced or exposed to AI before 2030, a new study by IT support provider Hamilton Group looked at occupations that can be expanded by artificial intelligence but would still require human expertise.

• Emergency medical technicians are at 0% automation risk from AI, making 181K jobs in the US safe.

• The best-paying job that AI isn’t aiming to replace is physician specialists, who make $266K a year.

• Healthcare and social services take 8 of the 10 spots least likely to be replaced, all with an automation risk below 10%.

  
  

The study compared 60 professions with an AI automation risk below 45%. For each occupation, the report cross-checked its responsibilities with the AI augmentation rate as presented in the Anthropic Economic Index, and analyzed current employment and median wages.

These 10 occupations can expand the most with AI, while not having a replacement risk:

Occupation	Occupation group	AI Automation Risk	AI Augmentation Rate (group)	Employment (2025)	Median wage ($)
Emergency Medical Technicians	Healthcare Practitioners	0%	58.4%	181K	44K
Paramedics	Healthcare Practitioners	0%	58.4%	101K	61K
Physicians, All Other	Healthcare Practitioners	4.5%	58.4%	343K	266K
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers	Community & Social Service	4.5%	60.0%	133K	60K
Child, Family, and School Social Workers	Community & Social Service	6.7%	60.0%	393K	60K
Registered Nurses	Healthcare Practitioners	6.9%	58.4%	3.4M	98K
Clinical and Counseling Psychologists	Life, Physical & Social Science	9.8%	59.5%	76K	101K
Nurse Practitioners	Healthcare Practitioners	9.9%	58.4%	323K	132K
General Internal Medicine Physicians	Healthcare Practitioners	9.9%	58.4%	67K	257K
Coaches and Scouts	Arts, Design & Media	10.3%	64.2%	249K	47K

You can find the full report findings by following this link.

Emergency Medical Technicians

• Occupation group: healthcare practitioners

• AI automation risk: 0%

• AI augmentation rate: 58.4% for the whole occupation group

• Employment in 2025: 181K

• Median wage: $44K

Emergency medical technicians are at 0% risk of being replaced by AI, sharing this level of job security only with paramedics. As the 911 responders, the human presence is critical during assessing medical conditions and providing life-saving care. Their job also requires attention to detail, manual labor, and quick thinking. These factors make healthcare a human-dominated field, even though emergency medical technicians earn the least among the top 10, with a median wage of $44K.

Paramedics

Another 911 health specialist on the list, paramedics also have a 0% replacement risk from AI, but up to 58.4% of their work is projected to be improved or enhanced by AI. This high percentage is calculated for the whole healthcare occupation group, meaning not every healthcare occupation will be affected similarly. For paramedics, AI automation can be used to fill in the reports after the shift, without involving these tools on the scene.

Physicians

In third place are physicians, who earn the most in the top 10. These professionals take home $266K a year, and with only a 4.5% risk of automation, most do not need to worry about losing their job to AI. Similar to other healthcare occupations, their augmentation rate is set at 58.4%, as tools can help them analyze patients’ profiles, with plenty of time to double-check any critical information.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

Social workers who deal with mental health issues and substance abuse rank fourth, getting the same minimal 4.5% risk of AI automation. Similar to paramedics, their job is tied to human-to-human interaction and good psychological skills that cannot be replaced with AI. At the same time, community and social workers are projected to augment up to 60% of their work with artificial intelligence, while not losing their jobs. Social workers also have the second-lowest salary on the list, earning only $60K annually.

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

Family and children-oriented social workers follow next, with a 6.7% automation risk, still a minimal level. Just like mental health workers, these specialists earn $60K a year, but are actually the largest occupation in the top 10, with 393K people employed. All these specialists are safe people for families and children in need, and this type of human connection makes the field secure from AI.

A Job Analyst From Hamilton Group Commented on The Study:

“The human factor is a major part of the job of a doctor, a nurse, a social worker, or a paramedic. Their ability to establish connection, understand the problem, and extend empathy to another person is what AI is unable to do. But at the same time, these important jobs are the most underpaid ones. In the top 5, only physicians are making good money, and the rest don’t earn above $61K. This is also part of the reason AI doesn’t go in these fields: it’s more expensive to make AI do the job, and there is not much money to make.”