The Task Exposure Indexv2026.Q3
Occupation · SOC 19-4099.03 · Job Zone 4

AI exposure: Remote Sensing Technicians

Apply remote sensing technologies to assist scientists in areas such as natural resources, urban planning, or homeland security. May prepare flight plans or sensor configurations for flight trips.

Reading this score

computed

52.4% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Remote Sensing Technicians at the 90th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 2.8 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 21 tasks it averages 1.74 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 Adjust remotely sensed images for optimum presentation by using software to select image..., at 86.7%. The least is Collect verification data on the ground, at 10.0%. A gap of 76.7% 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 0 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 21 tasks, 16 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

21 tasks, O*NET 31.0
TaskExposedAssistedUntouchedImportanceBand
Adjust remotely sensed images for optimum presentation by using software to select image displays, define image set categories, or choose processing routines.86.7%13.3%0.0%3.95exposed
Merge scanned images or build photo mosaics of large areas, using image processing software.86.7%13.3%0.0%3.88exposed
Verify integrity and accuracy of data contained in remote sensing image analysis systems.76.7%23.3%0.0%4.20exposed
Prepare documentation or presentations, including charts, photos, or graphs.73.3%26.7%0.0%3.08exposed
Document methods used and write technical reports containing information collected.73.3%26.7%0.0%3.13exposed
Provide remote sensing data for use in addressing environmental issues, such as surface water modeling or dust cloud detection.66.7%33.3%0.0%exposed
Collaborate with agricultural workers to apply remote sensing information to efforts to reduce negative environmental impacts of farming practices.58.3%29.2%12.5%exposed
Evaluate remote sensing project requirements to determine the types of equipment or computer software necessary to meet project requirements, such as specific image types or output resolutions.52.5%22.5%25.0%3.43exposed
Manipulate raw data to enhance interpretation, either on the ground or during remote sensing flights.50.0%25.0%25.0%3.89exposed
Participate in the planning or development of mapping projects.50.0%25.0%25.0%3.69exposed
Correct raw data for errors due to factors such as skew or atmospheric variation.50.0%25.0%25.0%4.07exposed
Develop or maintain geospatial information databases.50.0%25.0%25.0%3.82exposed
Develop specialized computer software routines to customize and integrate image analysis.50.0%25.0%25.0%3.13exposed
Integrate remotely sensed data with other geospatial data.45.0%30.0%25.0%4.06exposed
Consult with remote sensing scientists, surveyors, cartographers, or engineers to determine project needs.45.0%30.0%25.0%3.96exposed
Maintain records of survey data.45.0%30.0%25.0%3.49exposed
Calibrate data collection equipment.11.7%13.3%75.0%3.86untouched
Monitor raw data quality during collection, and make equipment corrections as necessary.11.7%13.3%75.0%3.75untouched
Collect remote sensing data for forest or carbon tracking activities involved in assessing the impact of environmental change.11.7%13.3%75.0%untouched
Collect geospatial data, using technologies such as aerial photography, light and radio wave detection systems, digital satellites, or thermal energy systems.10.0%15.0%75.0%4.43untouched
Collect verification data on the ground, using equipment such as global positioning receivers, digital cameras, or notebook computers.10.0%15.0%75.0%3.39untouched

Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean. 3 task(s) lacked a usable O*NET weight and are shown but excluded from the weighting.

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
Capability2.830-4
Embodiment0.830-3
Presence0.400-3
Accountability0.880-3
Context1.740-3
Verification cost1.620-3

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.