The Task Exposure Indexv2026.Q3
Occupation · SOC 25-4011.00 · Job Zone 5

AI exposure: Archivists

Appraise, edit, and direct safekeeping of permanent records and historically valuable documents. Participate in research activities based on archival materials.

Reading this score

computed

47.2% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Archivists at the 85th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 2.7 out of 4 on what a current system can produce, and the frictions that hold other jobs in place are comparatively weak here.

What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 13 tasks it averages 1.77 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work depends on knowledge the model cannot hold. Much of this job runs on things that were never written down: what this particular organisation does, what happened last week, what the person across the table actually meant. That context is the barrier, and it erodes as systems are given more access.

The most exposed thing this job does is Select and edit documents for publication and display, applying knowledge of subject, literary..., at 93.3%. The least is Preserve records, documents, and objects, copying records to film, videotape, audiotape, disk,..., at 0.0%. A gap of 93.3% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.

Within educational instruction and library occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 62 roles in the group is 41.9%, and only 2 of them score higher than this. Occupational families are not uniform, and the spread inside them is often wider than the gap between them.

What would move this score. Of 13 tasks, 9 are currently banded exposed, 2 assisted and 2 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take systems being given deeper access to the organisation's own records and history, which is already happening. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.

Task by task

13 tasks, O*NET 31.0
TaskExposedAssistedUntouchedImportanceBand
Select and edit documents for publication and display, applying knowledge of subject, literary expression, and presentation techniques.93.3%6.7%0.0%3.10exposed
Specialize in an area of history or technology, researching topics or items relevant to collections to determine what should be retained or acquired.86.7%13.3%0.0%3.57exposed
Organize archival records and develop classification systems to facilitate access to archival materials.70.0%17.5%12.5%4.83exposed
Locate new materials and direct their acquisition and display.60.0%15.0%25.0%3.93exposed
Create and maintain accessible, retrievable computer archives and databases, incorporating current advances in electronic information storage technology.55.0%20.0%25.0%4.60exposed
Establish and administer policy guidelines concerning public access and use of materials.55.0%20.0%25.0%4.58exposed
Coordinate educational and public outreach programs, such as tours, workshops, lectures, and classes.55.0%20.0%25.0%3.87exposed
Prepare archival records, such as document descriptions, to allow easy access to information.52.5%22.5%25.0%4.71exposed
Provide reference services and assistance for users needing archival materials.45.0%30.0%25.0%4.77exposed
Research and record the origins and historical significance of archival materials.20.0%30.0%50.0%4.23assisted
Authenticate and appraise historical documents and archival materials.20.0%30.0%50.0%3.88assisted
Direct activities of workers who assist in arranging, cataloguing, exhibiting, and maintaining collections of valuable materials.13.3%11.7%75.0%4.48untouched
Preserve records, documents, and objects, copying records to film, videotape, audiotape, disk, or computer formats as necessary.0.0%0.0%100.0%4.32untouched

Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.

Where the score comes from

judged

Every task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.

DimensionMeanScale
Capability2.650-4
Embodiment0.730-3
Presence0.650-3
Accountability0.620-3
Context1.770-3
Verification cost1.040-3

What this means in practice

Where most of a role's weighted task load is exposed, the work that survives is usually the part of the job nobody wrote into the job description: deciding what should be produced rather than producing it, and being answerable for the result. The tasks lowest on this page are a better guide to where to spend your time than any general advice about the future of work.

Occupations either side of this one

The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.

Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.