AI exposure: Geographers
Study the nature and use of areas of the Earth's surface, relating and interpreting interactions of physical and cultural phenomena. Conduct research on physical aspects of a region, including land forms, climates, soils, plants, and animals, and conduct research on the spatial implications of human activities within a given area, including social characteristics, economic activities, and political organization, as well as researching interdependence between regions at scales ranging from local to global.
Reading this score
computed31.2% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Geographers at the 55th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 2.1 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 12 tasks it averages 2.17 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 Write and present reports of research findings, at 73.3%. The least is Analyze geographic distributions of physical and cultural phenomena on local, regional,..., at 6.7%. 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 life, physical and social science occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 36.3% across the group's 60 roles, with 38 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 12 tasks, 7 are currently banded exposed, 0 assisted and 5 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
12 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Write and present reports of research findings. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.11 | exposed |
| Create and modify maps, graphs, or diagrams, using geographical information software and related equipment, and principles of cartography, such as coordinate systems, longitude, latitude, elevation, topography, and map scales. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 4.37 | exposed |
| Provide geographical information systems support to the private and public sectors. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.93 | exposed |
| Develop, operate, and maintain geographical information computer systems, including hardware, software, plotters, digitizers, printers, and video cameras. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.81 | exposed |
| Provide consulting services in fields such as resource development and management, business location and market area analysis, environmental hazards, regional cultural history, and urban social planning. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.18 | exposed |
| Gather and compile geographic data from sources such as censuses, field observations, satellite imagery, aerial photographs, and existing maps. | 35.4% | 27.1% | 37.5% | 4.16 | exposed |
| Locate and obtain existing geographic information databases. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 3.79 | exposed |
| Teach geography. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.15 | untouched |
| Collect data on physical characteristics of specified areas, such as geological formations, climates, and vegetation, using surveying or meteorological equipment. | 10.0% | 15.0% | 75.0% | 3.69 | untouched |
| Conduct field work at outdoor sites. | 10.0% | 15.0% | 75.0% | 3.58 | untouched |
| Study the economic, political, and cultural characteristics of a specific region's population. | 6.7% | 18.3% | 75.0% | 3.84 | untouched |
| Analyze geographic distributions of physical and cultural phenomena on local, regional, continental, or global scales. | 6.7% | 18.3% | 75.0% | 3.84 | 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 | 2.12 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 1.38 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.96 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 1.00 | 0-3 |
| Context | 2.17 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.71 | 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.