Prepare biological samples for testing or analysis.

Prepare biological samples for testing or analysis. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 7 occupations and seen in 8 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Prepare specimens or materials for testing. in Handling and Moving Objects .

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, 1 (13%) 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.

• Match laboratory requisition forms to specimen tubes. · Phlebotomists · importance 4.8 · no direct exposure
• Process blood or other fluid samples for further analysis by other medical professionals. · Phlebotomists · importance 4.7 · no direct exposure
• Isolate and maintain cultures of bacteria or other microorganisms in prescribed or developed media, controlling moisture, aeration, temperature, and nutrition. · Microbiologists · importance 4.6 · no direct exposure
• Prepare or incubate slides with cell cultures. · Food Science Technicians · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Prepare laboratory samples for analysis, following proper protocols to ensure that they will be stored, prepared, and disposed of efficiently and effectively. · Agricultural Technicians · importance 3.9 · no direct exposure
• Isolate, identify and prepare specimens for examination. · Biological Technicians · importance 3.9 · no direct exposure
• Prepare samples or photomicrographs for testing and analysis. · Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health · importance 3.9 · exposure with tools
• Prepare collections of preserved specimens or microscopic slides for species identification and study of development or disease. · Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists · importance 3.1 · no direct exposure

Occupations that perform this

• Phlebotomists
• Microbiologists
• Food Science Technicians
• Agricultural Technicians
• Biological Technicians
• Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health
• Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists

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-prepare-biological-samples-for-testing-or-analysis,
  title  = {Prepare biological samples for testing or analysis.},
  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/prepare-biological-samples-for-testing-or-analysis}
}