AI exposure: Software Developers
Research, design, and develop computer and network software or specialized utility programs. Analyze user needs and develop software solutions, applying principles and techniques of computer science, engineering, and mathematical analysis. Update software or enhance existing software capabilities. May work with computer hardware engineers to integrate hardware and software systems, and develop specifications and performance requirements. May maintain databases within an application area, working individually or coordinating database development as part of a team.
Reading this score
computed54.7% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Software Developers at the 92th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 3.2 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 17 tasks it averages 1.83 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 Store, retrieve, and manipulate data for analysis of system capabilities and requirements, at 80.0%. The least is Supervise the work of programmers, technologists and technicians and other engineering and..., at 13.3%. A gap of 66.7% 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 computer and mathematical occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 57.8% across the group's 36 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, 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| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Store, retrieve, and manipulate data for analysis of system capabilities and requirements. | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 3.59 | exposed |
| Monitor functioning of equipment to ensure system operates in conformance with specifications. | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 4.12 | exposed |
| Prepare reports or correspondence concerning project specifications, activities, or status. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.68 | exposed |
| Determine system performance standards. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.53 | exposed |
| Consult with customers or other departments on project status, proposals, or technical issues, such as software system design or maintenance. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.37 | exposed |
| Analyze user needs and software requirements to determine feasibility of design within time and cost constraints. | 66.7% | 33.3% | 0.0% | 4.08 | exposed |
| Analyze information to determine, recommend, and plan installation of a new system or modification of an existing system. | 66.7% | 33.3% | 0.0% | 3.61 | exposed |
| Obtain and evaluate information on factors such as reporting formats required, costs, or security needs to determine hardware configuration. | 66.7% | 33.3% | 0.0% | 3.07 | exposed |
| Design, develop and modify software systems, using scientific analysis and mathematical models to predict and measure outcomes and consequences of design. | 59.3% | 24.1% | 16.7% | 3.56 | exposed |
| Modify existing software to correct errors, adapt it to new hardware, or upgrade interfaces and improve performance. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.74 | exposed |
| Confer with data processing or project managers to obtain information on limitations or capabilities for data processing projects. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.32 | exposed |
| Confer with systems analysts, engineers, programmers and others to design systems and to obtain information on project limitations and capabilities, performance requirements and interfaces. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.75 | exposed |
| Supervise and assign work to programmers, designers, technologists, technicians, or other engineering or scientific personnel. | 37.5% | 25.0% | 37.5% | 3.13 | exposed |
| Develop or direct software system testing or validation procedures, programming, or documentation. | 35.4% | 27.1% | 37.5% | 3.90 | exposed |
| Coordinate installation of software system. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 3.75 | exposed |
| Train users to use new or modified equipment. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 2.91 | exposed |
| Supervise the work of programmers, technologists and technicians and other engineering and scientific personnel. | 13.3% | 11.7% | 75.0% | 3.51 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean. 1 task(s) lacked a usable O*NET weight and are shown but excluded from the weighting.
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 | 3.20 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 0.21 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.76 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.83 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.83 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.41 | 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.