The Task Exposure Indexv2026.Q3
Occupation · SOC 51-9162.00 · Job Zone 2

AI exposure: Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers

Develop programs to control machining or processing of materials by automatic machine tools, equipment, or systems. May also set up, operate, or maintain equipment.

Reading this score

computed

35.0% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers at the 60th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 2.2 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 16 tasks it averages 1.78 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 Compare encoded tapes or computer printouts with original part specifications and blueprints to..., at 73.3%. The least is Perform preventative maintenance or minor repairs on machines, at 0.0%. A gap of 73.3% 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 production occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 107 roles in the group is 16.1%, and only 1 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 16 tasks, 13 are currently banded exposed, 0 assisted and 3 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

16 tasks, O*NET 31.0
TaskExposedAssistedUntouchedImportanceBand
Compare encoded tapes or computer printouts with original part specifications and blueprints to verify accuracy of instructions.73.3%26.7%0.0%3.81exposed
Order tooling for jobs.64.2%23.3%12.5%3.56exposed
Enter computer commands to store or retrieve parts patterns, graphic displays, or programs that transfer data to other media.55.0%20.0%25.0%4.22exposed
Enter coordinates of hole locations into program memories by depressing pedals or buttons of programmers.55.0%20.0%25.0%3.95exposed
Sort shop orders into groups to maximize materials utilization and minimize machine setup time.55.0%20.0%25.0%3.82exposed
Determine reference points, machine cutting paths, or hole locations, and compute angular and linear dimensions, radii, and curvatures.37.5%25.0%37.5%4.33exposed
Determine the sequence of machine operations, and select the proper cutting tools needed to machine workpieces into the desired shapes.35.4%27.1%37.5%4.56exposed
Analyze job orders, drawings, blueprints, specifications, printed circuit board pattern films, and design data to calculate dimensions, tool selection, machine speeds, and feed rates.30.0%20.0%50.0%4.46exposed
Prepare geometric layouts from graphic displays, using computer-assisted drafting software or drafting instruments and graph paper.30.0%20.0%50.0%3.78exposed
Write programs in the language of a machine's controller and store programs on media, such as punch tapes, magnetic tapes, or disks.26.7%23.3%50.0%4.36exposed
Revise programs or tapes to eliminate errors, and retest programs to check that problems have been solved.26.7%23.3%50.0%4.19exposed
Modify existing programs to enhance efficiency.26.7%23.3%50.0%4.06exposed
Write instruction sheets and cutter lists for a machine's controller to guide setup and encode numerical control tapes.26.7%23.3%50.0%3.55exposed
Observe machines on trial runs or conduct computer simulations to ensure that programs and machinery will function properly and produce items that meet specifications.11.7%13.3%75.0%4.39untouched
Align and secure pattern film on reference tables of optical programmers, and observe enlarger scope views of printed circuit boards.6.2%6.2%87.5%3.27untouched
Perform preventative maintenance or minor repairs on machines.0.0%0.0%100.0%3.74untouched

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
Capability2.190-4
Embodiment1.380-3
Presence0.160-3
Accountability1.030-3
Context1.780-3
Verification cost1.470-3

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.