Enter codes and instructions to program computer-controlled machinery.

“Enter codes and instructions to program computer-controlled machinery.” is a core task performed by Industrial Machinery Mechanics. Among the occupation's 16 rated tasks, workers place it 3rd by importance (#14 most important). About 74% of workers say it is relevant to their job.

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

Work activities this task rolls up to

O*NET groups concrete tasks into broader work activities shared across many occupations.

• Process digital or online data. in Working with Computers

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E1. Direct exposure — a language model could plausibly cut the time to do this task by at least half.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 1.00. Automation potential label: T3.

How AI is actually used on this kind of task

The Anthropic Economic Index observes how people actually use AI on tasks like this one across millions of real conversations.

• 0.017% share of AI-use records mapped to this task
• 64% of that use is work-related
• Most common interaction: directive
• Average autonomy of the AI: 3.7 (1–5; higher = more autonomous)
• 68% of interactions still needed a human in the loop

Observed AI use describes people choosing to use AI as a tool on this kind of task today. It is augmentation and assistance, not a measure of jobs replaced.

Working with AI vs. handing it off

Of the AI conversations mapped to this task, the split between people working alongside AI and people delegating the task to it.

How people interact with AI on this task

Other tasks in this occupation

• Repair or maintain the operating condition of industrial production or processing machinery or equipment. · importance 4.3
• Repair or replace broken or malfunctioning components of machinery or equipment. · importance 4.2
• Clean, lubricate, or adjust parts, equipment, or machinery. · importance 4.2
• Disassemble machinery or equipment to remove parts and make repairs. · importance 4.1
• Reassemble equipment after completion of inspections, testing, or repairs. · importance 4.1
• Examine parts for defects, such as breakage or excessive wear. · importance 4.1
• Operate newly repaired machinery or equipment to verify the adequacy of repairs. · importance 4.0
• Record repairs and maintenance performed. · importance 4.0
• Record parts or materials used and order or requisition new parts or materials, as necessary. · importance 4.0
• Observe and test the operation of machinery or equipment to diagnose malfunctions, using voltmeters or other testing devices. · importance 3.9
• Analyze test results, machine error messages, or information obtained from operators to diagnose equipment problems. · importance 3.8
• Study blueprints or manufacturers' manuals to determine correct installation or operation of machinery. · importance 3.8
• Cut and weld metal to repair broken metal parts, fabricate new parts, or assemble new equipment. · importance 3.8
• Demonstrate equipment functions and features to machine operators. · importance 3.7

See all tasks on the Industrial Machinery Mechanics page.

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-task-11827,
  title  = {Enter codes and instructions to program computer-controlled machinery.},
  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/tasks/task-11827}
}