Examine microscopic samples to identify diseases or other abnormalities.

“Examine microscopic samples to identify diseases or other abnormalities.” is a core task performed by Physicians, Pathologists. Among the occupation's 19 rated tasks, workers place it 18th by importance (#2 most important). About 97% 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.

• Analyze biological or chemical substances or related data. in Analyzing Data or Information

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E2. Exposure with tools — software built on top of a language model (not the model alone) could cut the time 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 0.50. Automation potential label: T1.

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.

• 0.021% share of AI-use records mapped to this task
• 60% of that use is work-related
• Most common interaction: directive
• Average autonomy of the AI: 3.4 (1–5; higher = more autonomous)
• 76% 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

• Diagnose diseases or study medical conditions, using techniques such as gross pathology, histology, cytology, cytopathology, clinical chemistry, immunology, flow cytometry, or molecular biology. · importance 4.9
• Write pathology reports summarizing analyses, results, and conclusions. · importance 4.8
• Communicate pathologic findings to surgeons or other physicians. · importance 4.7
• Identify the etiology, pathogenesis, morphological change, and clinical significance of diseases. · importance 4.7
• Read current literature, talk with colleagues, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in pathology. · importance 4.4
• Consult with physicians about ordering and interpreting tests or providing treatments. · importance 4.3
• Analyze and interpret results from tests, such as microbial or parasite tests, urine analyses, hormonal assays, fine needle aspirations (FNAs), and polymerase chain reactions (PCRs). · importance 4.3
• Review cases by analyzing autopsies, laboratory findings, or case investigation reports. · importance 4.0
• Manage medical laboratories. · importance 4.0
• Diagnose infections, such as Hepatitis B and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), by conducting tests to detect the antibodies that patients' immune systems make to fight such infections. · importance 4.0
• Obtain specimens by performing procedures, such as biopsies or fine needle aspirations (FNAs) of superficial nodules. · importance 4.0
• Conduct genetic analyses of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or chromosomes to diagnose small biopsies and cell samples. · importance 3.9
• Develop or adopt new tests or instruments to improve diagnosis of diseases. · importance 3.7
• Educate physicians, students, and other personnel in medical laboratory professions, such as medical technology, cytotechnology, or histotechnology. · importance 3.7

See all tasks on the Physicians, Pathologists 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-17194,
  title  = {Examine microscopic samples to identify diseases or other abnormalities.},
  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-17194}
}