Develop theories or models of physical phenomena.

Develop theories or models of physical phenomena. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 7 occupations and seen in 10 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Develop scientific or mathematical theories or models. in Thinking Creatively .

Detailed work activities are the most granular shared layer in O*NET's work-activity hierarchy (Generalized → Intermediate → Detailed → occupation-specific task). The figures below describe how this activity shows up across the economy and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the work will be automated.

AI exposure

Of the 10 tasks under this activity that the OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rated, 10 (100%) are flagged as directly exposed to language models (E1) or exposed via model-powered tools (E2).

The Anthropic Economic Index observes real AI use on 7 of these tasks, with a mean mapped-usage share of 0.019% per task.

Exposure estimates overlap with model capabilities — whether a model could speed the task up — not whether the work will be done by software. Observed AI use is augmentation and assistance today, not jobs replaced.

Member tasks

Occupation-specific tasks O*NET maps to this detailed work activity, most important first.

• Develop or use mathematical or computer models for weather forecasting. · Atmospheric and Space Scientists · importance 4.5 · direct LLM exposure
• Develop and test theories, using information from interviews, newspapers, periodicals, case law, historical papers, polls, or statistical sources. · Political Scientists · importance 4.5 · exposure with tools
• Formulate predictions by interpreting environmental data, such as meteorological, atmospheric, oceanic, paleoclimate, climate, or related information. · Atmospheric and Space Scientists · importance 4.3 · exposure with tools
• Develop computer models to address transportation planning issues. · Transportation Planners · importance 4.1 · direct LLM exposure
• Develop theories based on personal observations or on observations and theories of other astronomers. · Astronomers · importance 4.1 · exposure with tools
• Design computer simulations to model physical data so that it can be better understood. · Physicists · importance 4.0 · direct LLM exposure
• Perform experiments and computer modeling to study the nature, structure, and physical and chemical properties of metals and their alloys, and their responses to applied forces. · Materials Scientists · importance 3.8 · exposure with tools
• Develop theories and laws on the basis of observation and experiments, and apply these theories and laws to problems in areas such as nuclear energy, optics, and aerospace technology. · Physicists · importance 3.7 · direct LLM exposure
• Develop or test new methods or models of transportation analysis. · Transportation Planners · importance 3.6 · exposure with tools
• Plan or develop research models, using knowledge of mathematical and statistical concepts. · Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health · importance 2.8 · direct LLM exposure

Occupations that perform this

• Atmospheric and Space Scientists
• Political Scientists
• Transportation Planners
• Astronomers
• Physicists
• Materials Scientists
• Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-develop-theories-or-models-of-physical-phenomena,
  title  = {Develop theories or models of physical phenomena.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/detailed-activities/develop-theories-or-models-of-physical-phenomena}
}