AI exposure: Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers
Inspect, test, sort, sample, or weigh nonagricultural raw materials or processed, machined, fabricated, or assembled parts or products for defects, wear, and deviations from specifications. May use precision measuring instruments and complex test equipment.
Reading this score
computedAt 20.9% of weighted task load, Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers sits at the 38th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 67.1% of what this role does is untouched, meaning current systems cannot produce that work at all, whatever the commercial incentive.
What holds the line here is embodiment. Across this occupation's 31 tasks it averages 2.34 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work has to happen in physical space. A language model cannot move matter. Until the robotics to do this work is both good enough and cheap enough to deploy widely, capability in software does not reach it.
The most exposed thing this job does is Write test or inspection reports describing results, recommendations, or needed repairs, at 73.3%. The least is Weigh materials, products, containers, or samples to verify packaging weights or ingredient..., 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 23 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 31 tasks, 10 are currently banded exposed, 1 assisted and 20 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take robotics cheap and reliable enough to deploy at scale, not a better language model. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
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 | 1.28 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 2.34 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.42 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.81 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.25 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.09 | 0-3 |
Task by task
31 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Write test or inspection reports describing results, recommendations, or needed repairs. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.39 | exposed |
| Record inspection or test data, such as weights, temperatures, grades, or moisture content, and quantities inspected or graded. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.25 | exposed |
| Analyze test data, making computations as necessary, to determine test results. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.24 | exposed |
| Recommend necessary corrective actions, based on inspection results. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 4.36 | exposed |
| Notify supervisors or other personnel of production problems. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.48 | exposed |
| Read blueprints, data, manuals, or other materials to determine specifications, inspection and testing procedures, adjustment methods, certification processes, formulas, or measuring instruments required. | 41.7% | 20.8% | 37.5% | 4.31 | exposed |
| Administer tests to assess whether engineers or operators are qualified to use equipment. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 4.08 | exposed |
| Read dials or meters to verify that equipment is functioning at specified levels. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 4.33 | exposed |
| Monitor production operations or equipment to ensure conformance to specifications, making necessary process or assembly adjustments. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 4.27 | exposed |
| Monitor machines that automatically measure, sort, or inspect products. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 4.03 | exposed |
| Interpret legal requirements, provide safety information, or recommend compliance procedures to contractors, craft workers, engineers, or property owners. | 25.0% | 25.0% | 50.0% | 4.00 | assisted |
| Compute defect percentages or averages, using formulas and calculators. | 16.7% | 8.3% | 75.0% | 3.70 | untouched |
| Compare colors, shapes, textures, or grades of products or materials with color charts, templates, or samples to verify conformance to standards. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 4.17 | untouched |
| Discard or reject products, materials, or equipment not meeting specifications. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.68 | untouched |
| Make minor adjustments to equipment, such as turning setscrews to calibrate instruments to required tolerances. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.32 | untouched |
| Check arriving materials to ensure that they match purchase orders, submitting discrepancy reports as necessary. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.29 | untouched |
| Inspect or test raw materials, parts, or products to determine compliance with environmental standards. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.27 | untouched |
| Compute usable amounts of items in shipments. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 3.84 | untouched |
| Grade, classify, or sort products according to sizes, weights, colors, or other specifications. | 7.1% | 5.4% | 87.5% | 3.72 | untouched |
| Fabricate, install, position, or connect components, parts, finished products, or instruments for testing or operational purposes. | 4.8% | 3.5% | 91.7% | 4.10 | untouched |
| Clean, maintain, calibrate, or repair measuring instruments or test equipment, such as dial indicators, fixed gauges, or height gauges. | 4.3% | 4.1% | 91.7% | 4.12 | untouched |
| Mark items with details, such as grade or acceptance-rejection status. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.57 | untouched |
| Measure dimensions of products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as rulers, calipers, gauges, or micrometers. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.49 | untouched |
| Inspect, test, or measure materials, products, installations, or work for conformance to specifications. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.46 | untouched |
| Position products, components, or parts for testing. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.91 | untouched |
| Remove defects, such as chips, burrs, or lap corroded or pitted surfaces. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.91 | untouched |
| Collect or select samples for testing or for use as models. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.77 | untouched |
| Stack or arrange tested products for further processing, shipping, or packaging. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.63 | untouched |
| Adjust, clean, or repair products or processing equipment to correct defects found during inspections. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.93 | untouched |
| Disassemble defective parts or components, such as inaccurate or worn gauges or measuring instruments. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.71 | untouched |
| Weigh materials, products, containers, or samples to verify packaging weights or ingredient quantities. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.53 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
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.
What this means in practice
Most of this work is not reachable by current systems, so the immediate pressure is on the administrative edges of the role rather than its core: the scheduling, the reporting, the written records. That is where time is recovered.