AI exposure: Geodetic Surveyors
Measure large areas of the Earth's surface using satellite observations, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), light detection and ranging (LIDAR), or related sources.
Reading this score
computed47.5% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Geodetic Surveyors at the 86th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 2.8 out of 4 on what a current system can produce, and the frictions that hold other jobs in place are comparatively weak here.
No single friction dominates this occupation. The strongest is verification cost at 1.56 out of 3 and the weakest is presence at 0.56, which is a narrow spread. Where nothing structural stands in the way, exposure tracks capability almost directly, and capability is the thing that changes every quarter.
The most exposed thing this job does is Verify the mathematical correctness of newly collected survey data, at 86.7%. The least is Determine orientation of tracts of land, at 0.0%. A gap of 86.7% 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 architecture and engineering occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 56 roles in the group is 37.5%, and only 0 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, 12 are currently banded exposed, 1 assisted and 3 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take cheaper ways to verify output, since the cost of checking is currently doing more to hold this work in place than the cost of producing it. 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| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verify the mathematical correctness of newly collected survey data. | 86.7% | 13.3% | 0.0% | 4.44 | exposed |
| Analyze control or survey data to ensure adherence to project specifications or land survey standards. | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 4.62 | exposed |
| Maintain databases of geodetic and related information, including coordinate, descriptive, or quality assurance data. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.50 | exposed |
| Prepare progress or technical reports. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.79 | exposed |
| Calculate the exact horizontal and vertical position of points on the Earth's surface. | 66.7% | 33.3% | 0.0% | 4.52 | exposed |
| Compute horizontal and vertical coordinates of control networks, using direct leveling or other geodetic survey techniques, such as triangulation, trilateration, and traversing, to establish features of the Earth's surface. | 66.7% | 33.3% | 0.0% | 4.31 | exposed |
| Compute, retrace, or adjust existing surveys of features such as highway alignments, property boundaries, utilities, control and other surveys to match the ground elevation-dependent grids, geodetic grids, or property boundaries and to ensure accuracy and continuity of data used in engineering, surveying, or construction projects. | 66.7% | 33.3% | 0.0% | 3.71 | exposed |
| Read current literature, talk with colleagues, continue education, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in technology, equipment, or systems. | 65.0% | 10.0% | 25.0% | 3.96 | exposed |
| Assess the quality of control data to determine the need for additional survey data for engineering, construction, or other projects. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.19 | exposed |
| Review existing standards, controls, or equipment used, recommending changes or upgrades as needed. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.78 | exposed |
| Distribute compiled geodetic data to government agencies or the general public. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 4.04 | exposed |
| Provide training and interpretation in the use of methods or procedures for observing and checking controls for geodetic and plane coordinates. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 3.92 | exposed |
| Plan or direct the work of geodetic surveying staff, providing technical consultation as needed. | 16.7% | 33.3% | 50.0% | 4.23 | assisted |
| Conduct surveys to determine exact positions, measurement of points, elevations, lines, areas, volumes, contours, or other features of land surfaces. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.52 | untouched |
| Request additional survey data when field collection errors occur or engineering surveying specifications are not maintained. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.04 | untouched |
| Determine orientation of tracts of land, including position, boundaries, size, and shape, using theodolites, electronic distance-measuring equipment, satellite-based positioning equipment, land information systems, or other geodetic survey equipment. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.65 | untouched |
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
judgedEvery 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.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 2.75 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 0.88 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.56 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 1.38 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.44 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.56 | 0-3 |
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.