AI exposure: Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
Smooth and finish surfaces of poured concrete, such as floors, walks, sidewalks, roads, or curbs using a variety of hand and power tools. Align forms for sidewalks, curbs, or gutters; patch voids; and use saws to cut expansion joints.
Reading this score
computedCement Masons and Concrete Finishers is among the least exposed occupations measured, at 0.8% of weighted task load, rank 915 of 923. 97.3% of this job is work current AI systems cannot produce at all. That is not a statement about skill or value. It is a statement about what these systems can and cannot do.
What holds the line here is embodiment. Across this occupation's 26 tasks it averages 2.96 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 Check the forms that hold the concrete to see that they are properly constructed, at 8.3%. The least is Spread roofing paper on surface of foundation, and spread concrete onto roofing paper with..., at 0.0%. A gap of 8.3% 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 construction and extraction occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 5.1% across the group's 61 roles, with 56 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 26 tasks, 0 are currently banded exposed, 0 assisted and 26 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 | 0.08 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 2.96 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.38 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.61 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.31 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.13 | 0-3 |
Task by task
26 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Check the forms that hold the concrete to see that they are properly constructed. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.20 | untouched |
| Monitor how the wind, heat, or cold affect the curing of the concrete throughout the entire process. | 6.7% | 18.3% | 75.0% | 3.99 | untouched |
| Set the forms that hold concrete to the desired pitch and depth, and align them. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.13 | untouched |
| Spread, level, and smooth concrete, using rake, shovel, hand or power trowel, hand or power screed, and float. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.07 | untouched |
| Mold expansion joints and edges, using edging tools, jointers, and straightedge. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.88 | untouched |
| Signal truck driver to position truck to facilitate pouring concrete, and move chute to direct concrete on forms. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.86 | untouched |
| Direct the casting of the concrete and supervise laborers who use shovels or special tools to spread it. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.83 | untouched |
| Produce rough concrete surface, using broom. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.80 | untouched |
| Apply hardening and sealing compounds to cure surface of concrete, and waterproof or restore surface. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.74 | untouched |
| Operate power vibrator to compact concrete. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.68 | untouched |
| Install anchor bolts, steel plates, door sills and other fixtures in freshly poured concrete or pattern or stamp the surface to provide a decorative finish. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.63 | untouched |
| Wet surface to prepare for bonding, fill holes and cracks with grout or slurry, and smooth, using trowel. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.63 | untouched |
| Waterproof or restore concrete surfaces, using appropriate compounds. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.55 | untouched |
| Mix cement, sand, and water to produce concrete, grout, or slurry, using hoe, trowel, tamper, scraper, or concrete-mixing machine. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.48 | untouched |
| Chip, scrape, and grind high spots, ridges, and rough projections to finish concrete, using pneumatic chisels, power grinders, or hand tools. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.33 | untouched |
| Cut out damaged areas, drill holes for reinforcing rods, and position reinforcing rods to repair concrete, using power saw and drill. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.27 | untouched |
| Wet concrete surface, and rub with stone to smooth surface and obtain specified finish. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.27 | untouched |
| Clean chipped area, using wire brush, and feel and observe surface to determine if it is rough or uneven. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.17 | untouched |
| Build wooden molds, and clamp molds around area to be repaired, using hand tools. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.17 | untouched |
| Sprinkle colored marble or stone chips, powdered steel, or coloring powder over surface to produce prescribed finish. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.32 | untouched |
| Fabricate concrete beams, columns, and panels. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.23 | untouched |
| Polish surface, using polishing or surfacing machine. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.18 | untouched |
| Cut metal division strips, and press them into terrazzo base so that top edges form desired design or pattern. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.12 | untouched |
| Push roller over surface to embed chips in surface. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 2.98 | untouched |
| Apply muriatic acid to clean surface, and rinse with water. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 2.87 | untouched |
| Spread roofing paper on surface of foundation, and spread concrete onto roofing paper with trowel to form terrazzo base. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 2.78 | 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.