AI and robots can replace coders, but not nurses, labourers or teachers: Report finds jobs costliest to automate | Mint

A June 2026 report by Planera challenges the conventional belief that low-skilled, low-wage jobs are the first to be automated, concluding that many care-based and physical professions are currently too expensive to replace with AI and robotics. The study analyzed 30 common American jobs, comparing government wage data with the actual costs from automation vendors to estimate the annual expense of replacing a human worker with a machine. It found that automating roles requiring human interaction, empathy, and decision-making in unpredictable environments, such as nursing assistants, home health aides, construction laborers, general maintenance workers, and teaching assistants, would cost employers several times their human wages. For instance, replacing a nursing assistant with robotics is estimated at around $375,100 annually, nearly nine times their median wage of $42,200. This is largely due to the need for advanced humanoid robotics that are not yet commercially viable for hands-on patient care. Similarly, automating home health aides would cost approximately $282,200 annually, and construction laborers about $285,300. The report highlights that the high cost and technical challenges associated with replicating complex human skills and physical presence mean these jobs are likely to remain human-dominated for the foreseeable future. In contrast, jobs involving repetitive and predictable tasks, such as cashiers, are more economically viable for automation, with self-checkout systems estimated to cost less than a cashier's median wage.