The Task Exposure Indexv2026.Q3
Occupation · SOC 27-3091.00 · Job Zone 4

AI exposure: Interpreters and Translators

Interpret oral or sign language, or translate written text from one language into another.

Reading this score

computed

Interpreters and Translators sits in the top 3% of every occupation measured. 62.6% of what this job consists of, weighted by how important each task is to the role, is work current AI systems can produce with little standing in the way. Very few occupations score this high. The ones that do tend to share a trait: the output is a document, a calculation or a message, and nobody has to be in a particular room for it to count.

What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 17 tasks it averages 1.71 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 Proofread, edit, and revise translated materials, at 93.3%. The least is Follow ethical codes that protect the confidentiality of information, at 8.3%. A gap of 85.0% 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 arts, design, entertainment, sports and media occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 40 roles in the group is 36.4%, and only 3 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 17 tasks, 16 are currently banded exposed, 0 assisted and 1 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

17 tasks, O*NET 31.0
TaskExposedAssistedUntouchedImportanceBand
Proofread, edit, and revise translated materials.93.3%6.7%0.0%3.93exposed
Refer to reference materials, such as dictionaries, lexicons, encyclopedias, and computerized terminology banks, as needed to ensure translation accuracy.86.7%13.3%0.0%4.41exposed
Check translations of technical terms and terminology to ensure that they are accurate and remain consistent throughout translation revisions.80.0%20.0%0.0%4.35exposed
Check original texts or confer with authors to ensure that translations retain the content, meaning, and feeling of the original material.80.0%20.0%0.0%4.30exposed
Educate students, parents, staff, and teachers about the roles and functions of educational interpreters.80.0%20.0%0.0%3.96exposed
Compile terminology and information to be used in translations, including technical terms such as those for legal or medical material.73.3%26.7%0.0%4.45exposed
Compile information on content and context of information to be translated and on intended audience.73.3%26.7%0.0%4.24exposed
Translate messages simultaneously or consecutively into specified languages, orally or by using hand signs, maintaining message content, context, and style as much as possible.60.0%40.0%0.0%4.73exposed
Listen to speakers' statements to determine meanings and to prepare translations, using electronic listening systems as necessary.60.0%40.0%0.0%4.48exposed
Identify and resolve conflicts related to the meanings of words, concepts, practices, or behaviors.60.0%40.0%0.0%4.30exposed
Adapt translations to students' cognitive and grade levels, collaborating with educational team members as necessary.60.0%40.0%0.0%4.42exposed
Adapt software and accompanying technical documents to another language and culture.60.0%40.0%0.0%4.23exposed
Read written materials, such as legal documents, scientific works, or news reports, and rewrite material into specified languages.60.0%40.0%0.0%3.71exposed
Travel with or guide tourists who speak another language.60.0%40.0%0.0%3.52exposed
Discuss translation requirements with clients and determine any fees to be charged for services provided.45.0%30.0%25.0%3.50exposed
Train and supervise other translators or interpreters.26.7%23.3%50.0%3.80exposed
Follow ethical codes that protect the confidentiality of information.8.3%16.7%75.0%4.86untouched

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
Capability3.650-4
Embodiment0.210-3
Presence0.820-3
Accountability0.850-3
Context1.710-3
Verification cost1.410-3

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.