AI exposure: Quality Control Analysts
Conduct tests to determine quality of raw materials, bulk intermediate and finished products. May conduct stability sample tests.
Reading this score
computed37.9% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Quality Control Analysts at the 67th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 2.5 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 26 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 Compile laboratory test data and perform appropriate analyses, at 80.0%. The least is Ensure that lab cleanliness and safety standards are maintained, at 8.3%. A gap of 71.7% 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 more exposed than most. The median across the 60 roles in the group is 35.8%, and only 26 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 26 tasks, 16 are currently banded exposed, 2 assisted and 8 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
26 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compile laboratory test data and perform appropriate analyses. | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 4.16 | exposed |
| Review data from contract laboratories to ensure accuracy and regulatory compliance. | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 3.54 | exposed |
| Write technical reports or documentation, such as deviation reports, testing protocols, and trend analyses. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.10 | exposed |
| Investigate or report questionable test results. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.09 | exposed |
| Interpret test results, compare them to established specifications and control limits, and make recommendations on appropriateness of data for release. | 66.7% | 33.3% | 0.0% | 4.35 | exposed |
| Perform validations or transfers of analytical methods in accordance with applicable policies or guidelines. | 66.7% | 33.3% | 0.0% | 3.62 | exposed |
| Evaluate analytical methods and procedures to determine how they might be improved. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 3.40 | exposed |
| Coordinate testing with contract laboratories and vendors. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.16 | exposed |
| Evaluate new technologies and methods to make recommendations regarding their use. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 2.94 | exposed |
| Complete documentation needed to support testing procedures, including data capture forms, equipment logbooks, or inventory forms. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.18 | exposed |
| Identify quality problems and recommend solutions. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.88 | exposed |
| Supply quality control data necessary for regulatory submissions. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.76 | exposed |
| Write or revise standard quality control operating procedures. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.65 | exposed |
| Prepare or review required method transfer documentation including technical transfer protocols or reports. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.58 | exposed |
| Develop and qualify new testing methods. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.52 | exposed |
| Participate in out-of-specification and failure investigations and recommend corrective actions. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.87 | exposed |
| Monitor testing procedures to ensure that all tests are performed according to established item specifications, standard test methods, or protocols. | 16.7% | 33.3% | 50.0% | 4.01 | assisted |
| Participate in internal assessments and audits as required. | 16.7% | 33.3% | 50.0% | 3.64 | assisted |
| Conduct routine and non-routine analyses of in-process materials, raw materials, environmental samples, finished goods, or stability samples. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 4.37 | untouched |
| Perform visual inspections of finished products. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.20 | untouched |
| Receive and inspect raw materials. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 3.86 | untouched |
| Serve as a technical liaison between quality control and other departments, vendors, or contractors. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 3.76 | untouched |
| Calibrate, validate, or maintain laboratory equipment. | 10.8% | 14.2% | 75.0% | 4.29 | untouched |
| Identify and troubleshoot equipment problems. | 10.0% | 15.0% | 75.0% | 4.14 | untouched |
| Train other analysts to perform laboratory procedures and assays. | 10.0% | 15.0% | 75.0% | 3.81 | untouched |
| Ensure that lab cleanliness and safety standards are maintained. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.20 | 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 | 2.54 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 1.00 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.62 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 1.27 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.83 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.73 | 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.