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Managers · code 1111

Legislators

AI can draft the bill. It can't win the vote or face the constituents.

All eight tasks are mostly out of AI's reach: setting policy, hearing out public concerns, haggling with other legislators and sitting through committees. Not one gets to even a fair chunk.

What they actually do (and what else they get called)

Legislators determine, formulate and direct policies of national, state, regional or local governments and international governmental agencies, and make, ratify, amend or repeal laws, public rules and regulations. They include elected and non-elected members of parliaments, councils and governments. Tasks include - (a) presiding over or participating in the proceedings of legislative bodies and administrative councils of national, state, regional or local governments or legislative assemblies; (b) determining, formulating and directing policies of national, state, regional or local governments; (c) making, ratifying, amending or repealing laws, public rules and regulations within a statutory or constitutional framework; (d) serving on government administrative boards or official committees; (e) investigating matters of concern to the public and promoting the interests of the constituencies which they represent; (f) attending community functions and meetings to provide service to the community, understand public opinion and provide information on government plans; (g) negotiating with other legislators and representatives of interest groups in order to reconcile differing interests, and to create policies and agreements; (h) as members of the government, directing senior administrators and officials of government departments and agencies in the interpretation and implementation of government policies. Examples of the occupations classified here: - City councillor - Government minister - Mayor - Member of parliament - President (government) - Secretary of state - Senator - State governor

  • senator
  • city councillor
  • mayor
  • provincial governor
  • member of parliament
  • secretary of state
  • government minister

Job titles from the EU's ESCO list. Search for any of them on the jobs page and you'll end up here.

69 / 100

Mostly holds up against AI

AI can take a few chores off your plate, but most of the day is still yours.

Not the odds you keep your job. It's how much of the everyday work still needs a person, out of 100.

← Robot's turf Human's turf →

The ILO's official verdict: Not Exposed

251 of 427 for holding up against AI

Why this score?

The ILO rated each of this job's 8 tasks for how much of it AI could do. They average 31.3 out of 100, so it holds up at 100 − 31.3 = 68.7.

That's the whole sum. No black box, no secret sauce: you can check it against the ILO's study. ILO group “Not Exposed”: None of this job's tasks scored high enough to count.

There's no close match for this job in the US data, so we can't say how hands-on it is. The score above only looks at AI tools.

from the source Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs 2025 index data 0.8-observed-use

Man v Bot · compare

Who holds up better?

Legislators 69

v

Go on, try your partner's job. Or your sibling's. We won't tell.

Man v Bot

Where the bot helps, and where the human wins

Bot

What AI takes

The routine stuff. You may not miss it.

  • Researching issues and drafting policy.
  • Summarising evidence and consultations.
  • Constituent casework correspondence.

Man

What people still do better

Judgement, trust and skilled hands. Hard to download.

  • Negotiating and building coalitions.
  • Representing people and taking responsibility.
  • Making judgement calls in public.

Both

What's arriving

New work that only exists because the AI does.

  • Writing laws about AI.
  • Scrutinising government use of AI.
  • Handling AI-generated disinformation.

Written by a human, from the ILO's task ratings below. Yes, we see the irony. Read it as one person's take.

Meet your two rivals

They're not the same machine. AI software can only reach the parts of a job done on a screen or in words. A chatbot can't climb a ladder. A robot might, one day, if it doesn't fall off.

The AI

Lives in a screen. Never had to fix a boiler.

Threat level: Low

26 could do without you

It could take over very little of the work on its own. It could help with 63 of 100.

The robot

The wildcard. Has hands, still working out stairs.

– how hands-on

We don't have a hands-on measure for this job.

The job, task by task

Every job is really a bundle of tasks. Here's this one unpacked, with how much of each AI could do, out of 100. The score is the average, and averages can hide a lot.

AI's favourite task here scores 36, against an average of 31. The bigger the gap, the more lopsided the job: some of it wide open to AI, some of it barely touched.

  1. 36

    Determining, formulating and directing policies of national, state, regional or local governments

    Low
  2. 35

    Investigating matters of concern to the public and promoting the interests of the constituencies which they represent

    Low
  3. 34

    Presiding over or participating in the proceedings of legislative bodies and administrative councils of national, state, regional or local governments or legislative assemblies

    Low
  4. 34

    Attending community functions and meetings to provide service to the community, understand public opinion and provide information on government plans

    Low
  5. 33

    As members of the government, directing senior administrators and officials of government departments and agencies in the interpretation and implementation of government policies.

    Low
  6. 29

    Making, ratifying, amending or repealing laws, public rules and regulations within a statutory or constitutional framework

    Low
  7. 26

    Negotiating with other legislators and representatives of interest groups in order to reconcile differing interests, and to create policies and agreements

    Low
  8. 25

    Serving on government administrative boards or official committees

    Low

8 tasks · the High to Very Low labels are the ILO's

from the source Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs 2025 index data 0.8-observed-use

Sidekick or replacement?

A tool that makes you faster is a very different thing from one that does the task while you watch. Jobs and Skills Australia measured the two separately, which is handy.

AI helps you
63
AI does it for you
26

Sidekick wins, by 37 points.

How good a match is this?

One Australian job matches, but only partly: not everyone in it does this job. Treat the numbers as a rough guide.

estimated Our Gen AI Transition (Gen AI Capacity Study) September 2025 detailed data release data 0.8-observed-use matched to Australian jobs 1113

So, should politicians and legislators be worried?

Short answer: not much. Some of the chores will change, and good riddance.

Parts of the work are changing. Policy, investigating issues, legislative proceedings, community meetings, directing officials, making laws, negotiating and committees all rate Low. AI will help with research and drafting; representation and judgement stay human.

Worth remembering: we score tasks, not jobs. When AI takes on a task, the job usually reshuffles around it rather than vanishing.

Where this job could lead

None of the new jobs we've written up start from here yet. Could be you're the first. See the jobs AI is creating →

How are the neighbours doing?

There are 30 jobs in the “Managers” family, averaging 64. This one is above the family average.

Pit this against any other job →