Operate laboratory or field equipment.

Operate laboratory or field equipment. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 8 occupations and seen in 8 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Operate laboratory or field equipment. in Controlling Machines and Processes .

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 8 tasks under this activity that the OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rated, 0 (0%) 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 1 of these tasks, with a mean mapped-usage share of 0.002% 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.

• Use a variety of specialized equipment, such as electron microscopes, gas and high-pressure liquid chromatographs, electrophoresis units, thermocyclers, fluorescence-activated cell sorters, and phosphorimagers. · Microbiologists · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Operate and maintain laboratory equipment and apparatus. · Forensic Science Technicians · importance 4.1 · no direct exposure
• Operate or adjust equipment or apparatus used to obtain geological data. · Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Observe the structure and properties of matter, and the transformation and propagation of energy, using equipment such as masers, lasers, and telescopes, to explore and identify the basic principles governing these phenomena. · Physicists · importance 3.8 · no direct exposure
• Use equipment such as atomic absorption spectrometers, electron microscopes, flow cytometers, or chromatography systems. · Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists · importance 3.8 · no direct exposure
• Monitor or operate specialized equipment, such as gas chromatographs and high pressure liquid chromatographs, electrophoresis units, thermocyclers, fluorescence activated cell sorters, and phosphorimagers. · Molecular and Cellular Biologists · importance 3.8 · no direct exposure
• Perform laboratory or field testing, using spectrometers, nitrogen determination apparatus, air samplers, centrifuges, or potential hydrogen (pH) meters to perform tests. · Agricultural Technicians · importance 3.7 · no direct exposure
• Operate experimental pilot plants, assisting with experimental design. · Chemical Technicians · importance 3.7 · no direct exposure

Occupations that perform this

• Microbiologists
• Forensic Science Technicians
• Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians
• Physicists
• Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
• Molecular and Cellular Biologists
• Agricultural Technicians
• Chemical Technicians

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-operate-laboratory-or-field-equipment,
  title  = {Operate laboratory or field equipment.},
  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/operate-laboratory-or-field-equipment}
}