AI exposure: Security Guards
Guard, patrol, or monitor premises to prevent theft, violence, or infractions of rules. May operate x-ray and metal detector equipment.
Reading this score
computedAt 22.4% of weighted task load, Security Guards sits at the 42th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 61.8% 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 14 tasks it averages 2.07 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 Answer telephone calls to take messages, answer questions, and provide information during..., at 86.7%. The least is Circulate among visitors, patrons, or employees to preserve order and protect property, 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 protective service occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 26 roles in the group is 18.3%, and only 6 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 14 tasks, 4 are currently banded exposed, 2 assisted and 8 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 | 1.57 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 2.07 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 1.86 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 1.18 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.61 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.61 | 0-3 |
Task by task
14 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Answer telephone calls to take messages, answer questions, and provide information during non-business hours or when switchboard is closed. | 86.7% | 13.3% | 0.0% | 4.48 | exposed |
| Write reports of daily activities and irregularities, such as equipment or property damage, theft, presence of unauthorized persons, or unusual occurrences. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.60 | exposed |
| Operate detecting devices to screen individuals and prevent passage of prohibited articles into restricted areas. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 4.41 | exposed |
| Call police or fire departments in cases of emergency, such as fire or presence of unauthorized persons. | 35.0% | 40.0% | 25.0% | 4.43 | assisted |
| Monitor and adjust controls that regulate building systems, such as air conditioning, furnace, or boiler. | 33.3% | 16.7% | 50.0% | 2.84 | exposed |
| Inspect and adjust security systems, equipment, or machinery to ensure operational use and to detect evidence of tampering. | 23.3% | 26.7% | 50.0% | 4.17 | assisted |
| Monitor and authorize entrance and departure of employees, visitors, and other persons to guard against theft and maintain security of premises. | 10.8% | 14.2% | 75.0% | 4.66 | untouched |
| Escort or drive motor vehicle to transport individuals to specified locations or to provide personal protection. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 3.66 | untouched |
| Answer alarms and investigate disturbances. | 5.0% | 20.0% | 75.0% | 4.73 | untouched |
| Warn persons of rule infractions or violations, and apprehend or evict violators from premises, using force when necessary. | 5.0% | 20.0% | 75.0% | 4.56 | untouched |
| Lock doors and gates of entrances and exits to secure buildings. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.92 | untouched |
| Patrol industrial or commercial premises to prevent and detect signs of intrusion and ensure security of doors, windows, and gates. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.77 | untouched |
| Respond to medical emergencies by administering basic first aid or by obtaining assistance from paramedics. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.75 | untouched |
| Circulate among visitors, patrons, or employees to preserve order and protect property. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.71 | 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.