Alaska has the workforce least likely to be replaced soon by artificial intelligence

A new study on artificial intelligence and job vulnerability places Alaska dead last on the list of states where workers are at risk of being replaced by automation. In this case, last place is exactly where Alaskans want to be.

Unit4’s analysis, using Microsoft job-exposure data, ranks Alaska 50th among all states, with just 1,295 jobs per 100,000 residents considered “highly exposed” to AI. Utah topped the list at more than 3,200 per 100,000.

The takeaway: Alaska’s economic structure, dominated by resource extraction, government, construction, transportation, government-nonprofit, and tribal-sector employment, is far less susceptible to the wave of automation looming over states with tech-heavy, finance-heavy, or customer-service-heavy workforces.

In short, the kinds of jobs many Alaskans perform are the kinds AI cannot easily replace.

Unlike states with dense tech hubs or armies of administrative and customer-service workers, Alaska’s economy leans into work that requires physical presence, environmental expertise, field judgment, and deep local knowledge.

Oil and gas jobs, from drill operators to mechanical technicians to field engineers, rely on hands-on, high-risk, high-skill tasks that cannot be automated by a chatbot or algorithm. Mining jobs are similarly insulated: Alaska’s miners, geologists, heavy-equipment operators, and mill workers perform work far beyond the reach of narrow AI systems designed for structured, repetitive tasks. Even people who unload fuel barges have expertise hard to replace.

Fishing, construction, aviation, and logistic, all of which major Alaska employers, share the same advantage: unpredictable environments and high-stakes decision-making that still require humans.

Even Alaska’s large public sector and nonprofit workforce, while not immune to AI tools, is less exposed to outright replacement because those roles often involve services in small communities, interpersonal judgment, or regulatory functions tied to Alaska’s unique geography.

The states at highest risk, including Utah, Colorado, Massachusetts, Virginia, Minnesota, and New York, share an economic model weighted toward administrative support, finance, customer service, research, digital services, and corporate headquarters.

Those are the sectors where AI excels: structured workflows, predictable decision trees, data-heavy analysis, and high-volume communication tasks.

A single example explains the difference: Customer service representatives are the No. 1 job at risk nationwide, with 2.7 million positions exposed. Alaska, by contrast, has relatively few large call centers or high-volume customer-support industries.

The study also notes that states with large, dense populations naturally see higher exposure because even small percentages of automation translate to very large numbers of affected workers. That’s why New York, Florida, and Illinois land in the top 10.

Nationally, the top 20 most at-risk occupations include customer service reps, sales representatives, management analysts, editors, public relations specialists, telemarketers, interpreters, writers, and even data scientists. This is a reminder that white-collar work is not in the least insulated from automation.

Creative and analytical roles also appear on the list, as AI becomes increasingly capable of drafting news articles, analyzing markets, creating code, translating languages, and summarizing reports.

The study warns this should be a “wake-up call” across the country, as even highly skilled roles are now being reshaped.

But the jobs least likely to be replaced? The very bottom of the list includes models – a profession not exactly widespread in Alaska –  followed closely by … wait for it … political scientists.

While Alaska’s workers face far less immediate threat of being replaced, the report stresses that every state will eventually feel the impact of AI. The safest jobs today may not stay that way forever, and the states that prepare now will weather transitions more smoothly.

For Alaska, that means:

• Integrating AI tools into existing industries without displacing workers

• Training younger Alaskans for roles that will evolve, not disappear

• Ensuring state and local governments adopt AI in ways that improve services, rather than eliminate people

With its resource-based economy and smaller population, Alaska enters the AI era from a position of relative strength. But the report infers something serious: ignoring the shift is the real danger.

For now, though, Alaska workers can take a rare victory lap as dead last in a national ranking where the top spot is the last place anyone wants to be.

Jobs most at risk: