Design, configure, and test computer hardware, networking software and operating system software.

“Design, configure, and test computer hardware, networking software and operating system software.” is a core task performed by Network and Computer Systems Administrators. Among the occupation's 20 rated tasks, workers place it 9th by importance (#12 most important). About 91% 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.

• Test performance of computer or information systems. in Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
• Design computer or information systems or applications. in Thinking Creatively

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: T2.

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.

• 0.046% share of AI-use records mapped to this task
• 45% of that use is work-related
• Average autonomy of the AI: 3.5 (1–5; higher = more autonomous)
• 82% 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.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Maintain and administer computer networks and related computing environments, including computer hardware, systems software, applications software, and all configurations. · importance 4.3
• Perform data backups and disaster recovery operations. · importance 4.1
• Diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve hardware, software, or other network and system problems, and replace defective components when necessary. · importance 4.1
• Configure, monitor, and maintain email applications or virus protection software. · importance 4.0
• Operate master consoles to monitor the performance of computer systems and networks and to coordinate computer network access and use. · importance 3.9
• Monitor network performance to determine whether adjustments are needed and where changes will be needed in the future. · importance 3.8
• Plan, coordinate, and implement network security measures to protect data, software, and hardware. · importance 3.7
• Analyze equipment performance records to determine the need for repair or replacement. · importance 3.6
• Implement and provide technical support for voice services and equipment, such as private branch exchange, voice mail system, and telecom system. · importance 3.6
• Recommend changes to improve systems and network configurations, and determine hardware or software requirements related to such changes. · importance 3.6
• Confer with network users about solutions to existing system problems. · importance 3.6
• Perform routine network startup and shutdown procedures, and maintain control records. · importance 3.4
• Load computer tapes and disks, and install software and printer paper or forms. · importance 3.4
• Train people in computer system use. · importance 3.3

See all tasks on the Network and Computer Systems Administrators 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-1322,
  title  = {Design, configure, and test computer hardware, networking software and operating system software.},
  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-1322}
}