AI exposure: Molecular and Cellular Biologists
Research and study cellular molecules and organelles to understand cell function and organization.
Reading this score
computed33.9% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Molecular and Cellular Biologists at the 58th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 2.3 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 22 tasks it averages 1.97 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 Prepare or review reports, manuscripts, or meeting presentations, at 82.2%. The least is Supervise technical personnel and postdoctoral research fellows, at 10.0%. A gap of 72.2% 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 35 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 22 tasks, 10 are currently banded exposed, 8 assisted and 4 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
22 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare or review reports, manuscripts, or meeting presentations. | 82.2% | 17.8% | 0.0% | 4.23 | exposed |
| Write grant applications to obtain funding. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.38 | exposed |
| Evaluate new technologies to enhance or complement current research. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 4.08 | exposed |
| Design molecular or cellular laboratory experiments, oversee their execution, and interpret results. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 4.54 | exposed |
| Verify all financial, physical, and human resources assigned to research or development projects are used as planned. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.17 | exposed |
| Design databases, such as mutagenesis libraries. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 2.45 | exposed |
| Maintain accurate laboratory records and data. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.65 | exposed |
| Conduct applied research aimed at improvements in areas such as disease testing, crop quality, pharmaceuticals, and the harnessing of microbes to recycle waste. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.53 | exposed |
| Confer with vendors to evaluate new equipment or reagents or to discuss the customization of product lines to meet user requirements. | 42.5% | 32.5% | 25.0% | 2.58 | exposed |
| Participate in all levels of bioproduct development, including proposing new products, performing market analyses, designing and performing experiments, and collaborating with operations and quality control teams during product launches. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 3.14 | exposed |
| Conduct research on cell organization and function, including mechanisms of gene expression, cellular bioinformatics, cell signaling, or cell differentiation. | 23.3% | 26.7% | 50.0% | 4.28 | assisted |
| Develop assays that monitor cell characteristics. | 23.3% | 26.7% | 50.0% | 3.46 | assisted |
| Coordinate molecular or cellular research activities with scientists specializing in other fields. | 23.3% | 26.7% | 50.0% | 3.27 | assisted |
| Perform laboratory procedures following protocols including deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequencing, cloning and extraction, ribonucleic acid (RNA) purification, or gel electrophoresis. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 4.35 | assisted |
| Direct, coordinate, organize, or prioritize biological laboratory activities. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 4.15 | assisted |
| Compile and analyze molecular or cellular experimental data and adjust experimental designs as necessary. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 4.12 | assisted |
| Provide scientific direction for project teams regarding the evaluation or handling of devices, drugs, or cells for in vitro and in vivo disease models. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 4.04 | assisted |
| Develop guidelines for procedures such as the management of viruses. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 3.52 | assisted |
| Evaluate new supplies and equipment to ensure operability in specific laboratory settings. | 13.3% | 11.7% | 75.0% | 3.00 | untouched |
| Instruct undergraduate and graduate students within the areas of cellular or molecular biology. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.19 | untouched |
| Monitor or operate specialized equipment, such as gas chromatographs and high pressure liquid chromatographs, electrophoresis units, thermocyclers, fluorescence activated cell sorters, and phosphorimagers. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 3.77 | untouched |
| Supervise technical personnel and postdoctoral research fellows. | 10.0% | 15.0% | 75.0% | 4.00 | 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 | 2.32 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 0.95 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.91 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 1.20 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.97 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.84 | 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.