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AI exposure Architecture and engineering

Will AI replace marine engineers and naval architects?

Marine Engineers and Naval Architects. US occupation 17-2121.

3.6%

of the time marine engineers and naval architects spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of marine engineers and naval architects' working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.

Ranked 287 of 756 US occupations. More exposed than 61% of them.Further along than 61% of them.

Average US job 7.7%

Around the middle of the pack.Keeping pace with the average job.

What AI already does for marine engineers and naval architectsWhat marine engineers and naval architects no longer do alone

O*NET lists 30 tasks for marine engineers and naval architects. AI use at work shows up in 2 of them. Each score runs from 0.5, where every observed use helps a person with the task, to 1, where every use does the task outright.

  1. Analyze data to determine feasibility of product proposals.Core task mostly automated 0.89
  2. Prepare plans, estimates, design and construction schedules, and contract specifications, including any special provisions.Core task automated and assisted 0.81

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

28 of the 30 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Check, test, and maintain automatic controls and alarm systems.Core task
  • Conduct analyses of ships, such as stability, structural, weight, and vibration analyses.Core task
  • Conduct analytical, environmental, operational, or performance studies to develop designs for products, such as marine engines, equipment, and structures.Core task
  • Conduct environmental, operational, or performance tests on marine machinery and equipment.Core task
  • Confer with research personnel to clarify or resolve problems and to develop or modify designs.Core task
  • Coordinate activities with regulatory bodies to ensure repairs and alterations are at minimum cost and consistent with safety.Core task
Show the other 22
  • Design and oversee testing, installation, and repair of marine apparatus and equipment.Core task
  • Design complete hull and superstructure according to specifications and test data, in conformity with standards of safety, efficiency, and economy.Core task
  • Design layout of craft interior, including cargo space, passenger compartments, ladder wells, and elevators.Core task
  • Determine conditions under which tests are to be conducted, as well as sequences and phases of test operations.Core task
  • Establish arrangement of boiler room equipment and propulsion machinery, heating and ventilating systems, refrigeration equipment, piping, and other functional equipment.Core task
  • Evaluate operation of marine equipment during acceptance testing and shakedown cruises.Core task
  • Evaluate performance of craft during dock and sea trials to determine design changes and conformance with national and international standards.Core task
  • Inspect marine equipment and machinery to draw up work requests and job specifications.Core task
  • Investigate and observe tests on machinery and equipment for compliance with standards.Core task
  • Maintain contact with, and formulate reports for, contractors and clients to ensure completion of work at minimum cost.Core task
  • Perform monitoring activities to ensure that ships comply with international regulations and standards for life-saving equipment and pollution preventatives.Core task
  • Prepare technical reports for use by engineering, management, or sales personnel.Core task
  • Prepare, or direct the preparation of, product or system layouts and detailed drawings and schematics.Core task
  • Review work requests and compare them with previous work completed on ships to ensure that costs are economically sound.Core task
  • Study design proposals and specifications to establish basic characteristics of craft, such as size, weight, speed, propulsion, displacement, and draft.Core task
  • Act as liaisons between ships' captains and shore personnel to ensure that schedules and budgets are maintained, and that ships are operated safely and efficiently.
  • Maintain and coordinate repair of marine machinery and equipment for installation on vessels.
  • Maintain records of engineering department activities, including expense records and details of equipment maintenance and repairs.
  • Oversee construction and testing of prototype in model basin and develop sectional and waterline curves of hull to establish center of gravity, ideal hull form, and buoyancy and stability data.
  • Procure materials needed to repair marine equipment and machinery.
  • Schedule machine overhauls and the servicing of electrical, heating, ventilation, refrigeration, water, and sewage systems.
  • Supervise other engineers and crew members and train them for routine and emergency duties.

How that compares

Among the 34 architecture and engineering occupations, marine engineers and naval architects rank 16. The group averages 3.8%, and its most exposed job is Computer Hardware Engineers at 14.5%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.

All 756 occupations, ranked

Just above in the ranking

  1. 284Industrial Engineers 3.7%
  2. 284Music Directors and Composers 3.7%
  3. 287Environmental Engineers 3.6%

Just below

  1. 289Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers 3.4%
  2. 290Chief Executives 3.3%
  3. 290Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other 3.3%

What this does and does not mean

Exposure is observed use, not a forecast. Anthropic maps work conversations with Claude onto the tasks O*NET lists for each job and asks, of the tasks AI could speed up, which are actually being used for at work. A use that does the task outright counts in full and a use that assists a person counts half. The task scores are averaged into the occupation figure by the share of time spent on each task.

A high figure means AI is already part of how this work gets done. It does not mean anyone has been replaced. Anthropic's own reading of the labour market finds no systematic rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting exposed jobs.No measurable rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting these jobs. Gap years for everyone. Labor market impacts, 5 March 2026.

Task list and titles from O*NET 31.0 by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Scores from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Checked 1 November 2026. How the ranking works.