AI exposure: Nuclear Power Reactor Operators
Operate or control nuclear reactors. Move control rods, start and stop equipment, monitor and adjust controls, and record data in logs. Implement emergency procedures when needed. May respond to abnormalities, determine cause, and recommend corrective action.
Reading this score
computed29.4% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Nuclear Power Reactor Operators at the 52th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 2.0 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 19 tasks it averages 2.00 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 Record operating data, at 73.3%. The least is Participate in nuclear fuel element handling activities, 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 4 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 19 tasks, 6 are currently banded exposed, 7 assisted and 6 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
19 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record operating data, such as the results of surveillance tests. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.53 | exposed |
| Review and edit standard operating procedures. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.06 | exposed |
| Dispatch orders or instructions to personnel through radiotelephone or intercommunication systems to coordinate auxiliary equipment operation. | 60.0% | 15.0% | 25.0% | 4.25 | exposed |
| Develop or implement actions such as lockouts, tagouts, or clearances to allow equipment to be safely repaired. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 4.78 | exposed |
| Note malfunctions of equipment, instruments, or controls and report these conditions to supervisors. | 35.4% | 27.1% | 37.5% | 4.51 | exposed |
| Monitor all systems for normal running conditions, performing activities such as checking gauges to assess output or the effects of generator loading on other equipment. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 4.71 | exposed |
| Respond to system or unit abnormalities, diagnosing the cause, and recommending or taking corrective action. | 24.4% | 25.6% | 50.0% | 4.73 | assisted |
| Direct reactor operators in emergency situations, in accordance with emergency operating procedures. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 4.76 | assisted |
| Authorize maintenance activities on units or changes in equipment or system operational status. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 4.30 | assisted |
| Supervise technicians' work activities to ensure that equipment is operated in accordance with policies and procedures that protect workers from radiation and ensure environmental safety. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 4.26 | assisted |
| Authorize actions to correct identified operational inefficiencies or hazards so that operating efficiency is maximized and potential environmental issues are minimized. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 4.10 | assisted |
| Direct the collection and testing of air, water, gas, or solid samples to determine radioactivity levels or to ensure appropriate radioactive containment. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 3.93 | assisted |
| Direct measurement of the intensity or types of radiation in work areas, equipment, or materials. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 3.69 | assisted |
| Monitor or operate boilers, turbines, wells, or auxiliary power plant equipment. | 17.5% | 20.0% | 62.5% | 4.66 | untouched |
| Conduct inspections or operations outside of control rooms as necessary. | 13.3% | 11.7% | 75.0% | 3.90 | untouched |
| Operate nuclear power reactors in accordance with policies and procedures to protect workers from radiation and to ensure environmental safety. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.94 | untouched |
| Adjust controls to position rod and to regulate flux level, reactor period, coolant temperature, or rate of power flow, following standard procedures. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.86 | untouched |
| Implement operational procedures, such as those controlling start-up or shut-down activities. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.53 | untouched |
| Participate in nuclear fuel element handling activities, such as preparation, transfer, loading, or unloading. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.41 | 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 | 2.00 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 1.43 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 1.11 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 1.07 | 0-3 |
| Context | 2.00 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.61 | 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.