AI threatens higher percentage of jobs in Washington, D.C., than anywhere else in US: study

Rapid developments in artificial intelligence over the past year have sparked endless studies and speculation over which jobs are most at risk of being replaced by the powerful technology. But a new analysis looked at which parts of the U.S. are most threatened by AI, and the nation's capital was determined to be the most threatened.

A recent study conducted by job search engine Salarship ranked U.S. states and territories according to their vulnerability to AI, both by the number of jobs lost and the percentage of jobs lost.

The states with the most people were, naturally, the most vulnerable to AI in absolute terms, with four of the five that risk losing the highest number of jobs also being among the nation's most populated. California came in at No. 1 with 5.3 million jobs at risk, followed by Texas (4 million), Florida (2.95 million), New York (2.87 million) and Illinois (1.8 million).

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But when it comes to the states and territories that stand to lose the highest percentage of jobs, the District of Columbia topped the list, with nearly one-third (32.56%) of positions in the capital city under threat of being wiped away by AI.

"With more than 60,000 office and administrative employees, D.C. is the most bureaucratic state in the United States," Salarship CEO Nathan Brunner told FOX Business. "These occupations are by far the most vulnerable to AI."

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Puerto Rico was ranked second most at risk percentage-wise, with 32.18% of the U.S. territory's jobs at risk. Brunner explained the Caribbean island relies heavily on sales-related jobs due to its low labor cost and tourism sector, but pointed to an Accenture report highlighting that roughly half of sales-related tasks such as customer support could potentially be replaced by AI.

No. 3 on the list was Florida, because the state has "a service economy, first and foremost," Brunner said. His company's study determined Floridians may face challenges in the AI area because many service jobs are highly susceptible to automation and technological displacement.

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Next in the rankings was Delaware, which faces losing 31.76% of its jobs to AI. 

"Delaware is particularly attractive to financial companies due to its light taxation and business-friendly laws," Brunner said. "Unfortunately, occupations that deal with financial operations are at high risk of being replaced by AI."

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Finally, Arizona was fifth on the list for losing the most percentage of jobs at 31.64%. Brunner said no single factor for the state's high risk stands out, but noted "Arizona has many easily-replaceable occupations in the legal, financial and administrative sectors."