Waiters and Waitresses vs Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
Waiters and Waitresses carries the higher exposed share at 23.2% against 18.2%, a gap of 5.0 points. The difference is driven by friction: the work is similarly producible in both, and what differs is what stands in the way of letting a machine finish it. Release v2026.Q3.
| Occupation | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Capability | Friction | Median pay | Rank | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waiters and Waitresses | 23.2% | 9.1% | 67.7% | 0.32 | 0.34 | $35,230 | 522 | untouched |
| Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria | 18.2% | 10.2% | 71.6% | 0.28 | 0.42 | $37,450 | 637 | untouched |
What stands in the way, in each
Waiters and Waitresses: the dominant friction is that the work happens to physical things in physical places. Capability sits at 0.32 of 1 and friction at 0.34 of 1.
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria: the dominant friction is that the work happens to physical things in physical places. Capability sits at 0.28 of 1 and friction at 0.42 of 1.
Capability asks whether a generally available system can produce the work product at all. Friction asks what stops it finishing the job: physical work, being present, being accountable, unseen context, or the cost of checking the output. The rubric is here.
Read each in full
Exposure is not displacement. A higher score does not rank two jobs by how safe they are, and nothing here models adoption, employment or pay.