AI exposure: Motion Picture Projectionists
Set up and operate motion picture projection and related sound reproduction equipment.
Reading this score
computedAt 19.8% of weighted task load, Motion Picture Projectionists sits at the 35th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 68.4% 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 17 tasks it averages 2.50 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 Open and close facilities according to rules and schedules, at 80.0%. The least is Clean the projection booth, at 0.0%. A gap of 80.0% 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 personal care and service occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 24.4% across the group's 31 roles, with 21 scoring higher. Being in an exposed family does not make a particular job exposed, and the reverse holds too.
What would move this score. Of 17 tasks, 2 are currently banded exposed, 1 assisted and 14 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 | 1.24 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 2.50 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.68 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.32 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.12 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.00 | 0-3 |
Task by task
17 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open and close facilities according to rules and schedules. | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 4.37 | exposed |
| Prepare film inspection reports, attendance sheets, and log books. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.67 | exposed |
| Splice separate film reels, advertisements, and movie trailers together to form a feature-length presentation on one continuous reel. | 18.3% | 6.7% | 75.0% | 3.64 | untouched |
| Monitor operations to ensure that standards for sound and image projection quality are met. | 16.7% | 33.3% | 50.0% | 4.58 | assisted |
| Remove full take-up reels and run film through rewinding machines to rewind projected films so they may be shown again. | 16.7% | 8.3% | 75.0% | 3.82 | untouched |
| Start projectors and open shutters to project images onto screens. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 4.39 | untouched |
| Operate equipment to show films in a number of theaters simultaneously. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 4.32 | untouched |
| Set up and adjust picture projectors and screens to achieve proper size, illumination, and focus of images, and proper volume and tone of sound. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 4.11 | untouched |
| Coordinate equipment operation with presentation of supplemental material, such as music, oral commentaries, or sound effects. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 3.67 | untouched |
| Install and connect auxiliary equipment, such as microphones, amplifiers, disc playback machines, and lights. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 3.77 | untouched |
| Observe projector operation to anticipate need to transfer operations from one projector to another. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 3.72 | untouched |
| Set up and inspect curtain and screen controls. | 14.2% | 10.8% | 75.0% | 3.89 | untouched |
| Inspect projection equipment prior to operation to ensure proper working order. | 13.3% | 11.7% | 75.0% | 4.10 | untouched |
| Inspect movie films to ensure that they are complete and in good condition. | 13.3% | 11.7% | 75.0% | 4.45 | untouched |
| Perform regular maintenance tasks, such as rotating or replacing xenon bulbs, cleaning projectors and lenses, lubricating machinery, and keeping electrical contacts clean and tight. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.19 | untouched |
| Perform minor repairs, such as replacing worn sprockets, or notify maintenance personnel of the need for major repairs. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.97 | untouched |
| Clean the projection booth. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.40 | 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.