The Task Exposure Indexv2026.Q3
Occupation · SOC 19-1031.03 · Job Zone 4

AI exposure: Park Naturalists

Plan, develop, and conduct programs to inform public of historical, natural, and scientific features of national, state, or local park.

Reading this score

computed

38.1% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Park Naturalists at the 67th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 2.4 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 20 tasks it averages 1.86 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 Compile and maintain official park photographic and information files, at 73.3%. The least is Perform routine maintenance on park structures, at 0.0%. A gap of 73.3% 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 life, physical and social science occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 60 roles in the group is 35.8%, and only 25 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 20 tasks, 14 are currently banded exposed, 0 assisted and 6 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

20 tasks, O*NET 31.0
TaskExposedAssistedUntouchedImportanceBand
Compile and maintain official park photographic and information files.73.3%26.7%0.0%2.90exposed
Prepare brochures and write newspaper articles.67.1%20.4%12.5%3.04exposed
Confer with park staff to determine subjects and schedules for park programs.64.2%23.3%12.5%4.00exposed
Plan and develop audio-visual devices for public programs.64.2%23.3%12.5%3.18exposed
Construct historical, scientific, and nature visitor-center displays.63.0%20.4%16.7%3.52exposed
Develop environmental educational programs and curricula for schools.55.0%20.0%25.0%4.04exposed
Research stories regarding the area's natural history or environment.50.0%25.0%25.0%3.04exposed
Conduct field trips to point out scientific, historic, and natural features of parks, forests, historic sites, or other attractions.45.0%30.0%25.0%4.50exposed
Provide visitor services, such as explaining regulations, answering visitor requests, needs and complaints, and providing information about the park and surrounding areas.45.0%30.0%25.0%4.50exposed
Prepare and present illustrated lectures and interpretive talks about park features.45.0%30.0%25.0%4.31exposed
Plan and organize public events at the park.45.0%30.0%25.0%4.17exposed
Assist with operations of general facilities, such as visitor centers.45.0%30.0%25.0%4.15exposed
Train staff and volunteers on park programs.26.7%23.3%50.0%4.12exposed
Interview specialists in desired fields to obtain and develop data for park information programs.26.7%23.3%50.0%2.61exposed
Plan, organize and direct activities of seasonal staff members.24.1%17.6%58.3%4.04untouched
Survey park to determine forest conditions and distribution and abundance of fauna and flora.13.3%11.7%75.0%3.56untouched
Take photographs and motion pictures for use in lectures and publications and to develop displays.10.0%15.0%75.0%3.17untouched
Provide care for park program animals.4.6%7.9%87.5%4.60untouched
Perform emergency duties to protect human life, government property, and natural features of park.0.0%0.0%100.0%3.75untouched
Perform routine maintenance on park structures.0.0%0.0%100.0%3.17untouched

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

judged

Every 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.

DimensionMeanScale
Capability2.350-4
Embodiment1.210-3
Presence1.070-3
Accountability0.750-3
Context1.860-3
Verification cost1.260-3

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.