Human Bottleneck Index
Where automation moves fast, and where humans still hold the line.
Updated model view
10 sectors
Compare industries by AI capability, physical friction, regulation, trust, labor scale, and net automation risk.
Avg risk
3.1/5
Friction sectors
7
Workers mapped
87.0M
Highest risk
Software Development
Industry ranking
10 sectors · 87.0M workers in view
Bottleneck
| INDUSTRYIndustry sector being evaluated. Click a row to expand the top related occupations. | AI CAP.How capable current AI systems are at the digital and knowledge-work parts of this sector. Scale: 1 low, 5 high. | PHYSICALHow much real-world movement, hardware, site access, or embodied work slows automation. Scale: 1 low, 5 high. | REGULATIONHow much compliance, licensing, audits, safety rules, or legal review slows deployment. Scale: 1 low, 5 high. | TRUSTHow much customers, workers, or institutions need human accountability before adopting automation. Scale: 1 low, 5 high. | AUTO RISKComposite estimate of how exposed the sector is to automation after capability and bottlenecks are weighed. Scale: 1 low, 5 high.↓ | WORKERSApproximate U.S. employment represented by the occupations mapped to this sector. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
▶ Software Development | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4.4 | 4.0M |
▶ Media & Journalism | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 900K |
▶ Financial Services regulationtrust | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 3.2 | 6.8M |
▶ Legal Services regulationtrust | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 3.2 | 1.2M |
▶ Retail & Customer Service | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3.2 | 15.0M |
▶ Education trust | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2.8 | 13.0M |
▶ Manufacturing physical | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2.8 | 12.8M |
▶ Transportation & Logistics physical | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2.6 | 7.5M |
▶ Healthcare regulationtrust | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 2.2 | 18.0M |
▶ Construction physical | 2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2.2 | 7.8M |