Job Check
Fallers
Use axes or chainsaws to fell trees using knowledge of tree characteristics and cutting techniques to control direction of fall and minimize tree damage.
10 main tasks · most important first
Your main tasks and AI
Importance- 01Saw back-cuts, leaving sufficient sound wood to control direction of fall.Mostly human for now
- 02Control the direction of a tree's fall by scoring cutting lines with axes, sawing undercuts along scored lines with chainsaws, knocking slabs from cuts with single-bit axes, and driving wedges.Mostly human for now
- 03Stop saw engines, pull cutting bars from cuts, and run to safety as tree falls.Mostly human for now
- 04Select trees to be cut down, assessing factors such as site, terrain, and weather conditions before beginning work.Mostly human for now
- 05Measure felled trees and cut them into specified log lengths, using chain saws and axes.Mostly human for now
- 06Insert jacks or drive wedges behind saws to prevent binding of saws and to start trees falling.Mostly human for now
- 07Assess logs after cutting to ensure that the quality and length are correct.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 08Appraise trees for certain characteristics, such as twist, rot, and heavy limb growth, and gauge amount and direction of lean, to determine how to control the direction of a tree's fall with the least damage.Mostly human for now
- 09Clear brush from work areas and escape routes, and cut saplings and other trees from direction of falls, using axes, chainsaws, or bulldozers.Mostly human for now
- 10Tag unsafe trees with high-visibility ribbons.Mostly human for now
Tasks from O*NET® 31.0 (US Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0, changed by us), most important first. “Already use” comes from Anthropic’s data on real work chats with Claude; “could speed up” from task ratings made with GPT-4 in 2023.
Four studies, side by side
None is a forecast of job lossToo little dataNot enough work use was seen to measure. This does not mean the job is safe from AI.Anthropic, 2026
3%of this job’s tasks an AI model could do in half the time, counting tasks that need extra tools as half (rated in 2023).Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock, 2023
Above 20% of jobsin how often and how well AI helped with this job’s work in Microsoft Copilot chats (2024 data).Microsoft Research (Tomlinson et al.), 2025
Above 66% of jobsin how much of this job’s physical work robots have been shown to do, from factories to homes (2026).Anthropic, 2026
Your human edge
The main tasks with no real AI use seen and no big speed-up expected. This is where your skill counts most today.
- Saw back-cuts, leaving sufficient sound wood to control direction of fall.
- Control the direction of a tree's fall by scoring cutting lines with axes, sawing undercuts along scored lines with chainsaws, knocking slabs from cuts with single-bit axes, and driving wedges.
- Stop saw engines, pull cutting bars from cuts, and run to safety as tree falls.