Photographic products machine operators

30.4%

ADI · 248th of 433 · 95% interval 12.8–48.7

An AI agent can at least partly carry out 30.4% of the task time of photographic products machine operators, and finish 7.0% alone. The barrier that holds most of the rest back is access to the systems the work runs on.

ADI · partial or full30.4%

248th of 433 · interval 12.8–48.7

ADI3 · full delegation7.0%

55th of 433 · interval 0.0–18.2

ADIs · share of time34.6%

222nd of 433 · interval 23.8–44.9

Evidence27

task statements rated by two models and weighted by importance and frequency. World employment: 0.1 million.

Task weight by level

How the tasks rate

28%

42%

23%

L0No meaningful role · 27.6%L1Augmentation · 41.9%L2Partial delegation · 23.4%L3Full delegation · 7.0%

Barriers

What stops the agent

Physical presence

79%

Accountability

Trust and care

Access to systems

56%

Share of task weight flagged by each barrier; a task can carry several.

27 task statements, heaviest first

Task statement (O*NET occupation)			Sonnet · Haiku			Barriers
Select digital images for printing, specify number of images to be printed, and direct to printer, using computer software.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	5.4%	L2	L2L3	78%	15 min	Access to systems
Create prints according to customer specifications and laboratory protocols.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	5.2%	L1	L1L2	32%	22 min	Physical presence, Access to systems
Produce color or black-and-white photographs, negatives, or slides, applying standard photographic reproduction techniques and procedures.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	5.0%	L1	L1L1	18%	45 min	Physical presence, Access to systems
Review computer-processed digital images for quality.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	4.9%	L2	L2L2	70%	22 min	–
Set or adjust machine controls, according to specifications, type of operation, or material requirements.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	4.7%	L1	L1L1	20%	15 min	Physical presence, Access to systems
Operate scanners or related computer equipment to digitize negatives, photographic prints, or other images.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	4.6%	L1	L1L2	38%	24 min	Physical presence, Access to systems
Load digital images onto computers directly from cameras or from storage devices, such as flash memory cards or universal serial bus (USB) devices.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	4.5%	L2	L2L2	60%	10 min	Physical presence, Access to systems
Operate special equipment to perform tasks such as transferring film to videotape or producing photographic enlargements.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	4.4%	L1	L1L1	12%	52 min	Physical presence, Access to systems
Examine developed prints for defects, such as broken lines, spots, or blurs.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	4.3%	L1	L1L2	38%	4 min	Physical presence, Access to systems
Read work orders to determine required processes, techniques, materials, or equipment.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	4.2%	L3	L3L3	82%	10 min	Access to systems
Insert processed negatives and prints into envelopes for delivery to customers.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	4.0%	L0	L0L0	2%	2 min	Physical presence
Load circuit boards, racks or rolls of film, negatives, or printing paper into processing or printing machines.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	3.9%	L0	L0L0	4%	10 min	Physical presence, Access to systems
Monitor equipment operation to detect malfunctions.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	3.7%	L1	L1L2	30%	30 min	Physical presence, Access to systems
Immerse film, negatives, paper, or prints in developing solutions, fixing solutions, and water to complete photographic development processes.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators · supplemental task	3.7%	L0	L0L0	4%	20 min	Physical presence
Reprint originals for enlargement or in sections to be pieced together.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	3.6%	L1	L1L2	30%	45 min	Physical presence, Access to systems

Show the other 12 tasks

Task statement (O*NET occupation)			Sonnet · Haiku			Barriers
Examine quality of film fades or dissolves for potential color corrections, using color analyzers.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators · supplemental task	3.4%	L1	L1L2	35%	30 min	Physical presence, Access to systems
Maintain records, such as quantities or types of processing completed, materials used, or customer charges.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	3.3%	L2	L2L2	68%	20 min	Physical presence, Access to systems
Examine drawings, negatives, or photographic prints to determine coloring, shading, accenting, or other changes required for retouching or restoration.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators · supplemental task	3.3%	L2	L2L2	55%	28 min	Physical presence
Place sensitized paper in frames of projection printers, photostats, or other reproduction machines.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators · supplemental task	3.3%	L0	L0L0	4%	3 min	Physical presence
Produce timed prints with separate densities or color settings for each scene of a production.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators · supplemental task	3.1%	L1	L1L2	32%	1.4 h	Physical presence, Access to systems
Fill tanks of processing machines with solutions such as developer, dyes, stop-baths, fixers, bleaches, or washes.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	3.1%	L0	L0L0	4%	20 min	Physical presence, Accountability
Thread filmstrips through densitometers or sensitometers and expose film to light to determine density of film, necessary color corrections, or light sensitivity.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators · supplemental task	2.9%	L0	L0L1	12%	25 min	Physical presence, Access to systems
Upload digital images onto Web sites for customers.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators · supplemental task	2.8%	L3	L3L3	88%	18 min	Access to systems
Clean or maintain photoprocessing or darkroom equipment, using ultrasonic equipment or cleaning and rinsing solutions.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	2.7%	L0	L0L0	4%	38 min	Physical presence
Measure and mix chemicals to prepare solutions for processing, according to formulas.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	2.6%	L0	L0L1	8%	20 min	Physical presence
Retouch photographic negatives or original prints to correct defects.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators · supplemental task	1.9%	L2	L2L2	60%	38 min	Physical presence, Access to systems
Splice broken or separated film and mount film on reels.Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators · supplemental task	1.5%	L0	L0L1	2%	12 min	Physical presence

Level: consensus of the two models (the lower level when they disagree). Share: part of the task’s working time an agent could take over. Human time: minutes a competent person needs for one instance, as estimated by the models.

Against other measures

Exposure is not delegation

Measure	Value	Pct
ADI (this index)	30.4%	43
Eloundou et al. (2024), GPT exposure β	0.396	60
Felten et al. (2021), AI occupational exposure	-0.362	43
Webb (2020), AI patent exposure	89	88
Eisfeldt et al. (2026), generative AI exposure	0.062	27
Anthropic Economic Index, observed use	0.011	42

Earlier indices measure whether AI can touch a task; ADI measures how much of it an agent can carry out from a goal. – : the source does not cover this occupation.

Same sub-major group (81)

Neighbouring occupations

Occupation	ADI	%
Chemical products plant and machine operators 8131		19.9
Stationary plant and machine operators not elsewhere classified 8189		17.5
Steam engine and boiler operators 8182		17.3
Cement, stone and other mineral products machine operators 8114		16.5
Bleaching, dyeing and fabric cleaning machine operators 8154		13.5
Plastic products machine operators 8142		11.8
Metal processing plant operators 8121		9.8
Glass and ceramics plant operators 8181		9.1
Food and related products machine operators 8160		8.8
Well drillers and borers and related workers 8113		7.0
Rubber products machine operators 8141		6.5
Metal finishing, plating and coating machine operators 8122		5.5

Dashed line: photographic products machine operators (30.4%).

Cite this record

Text

Espinal Maya, Cristian, and Santiago Jiménez Londoño. 2026. ADI v2026.1: Agent Delegability Index data, code and MCP server. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23552918. Record: Photographic products machine operators (ISCO-08 8132), https://balamlabs.org/adi/occupations/8132

BibTeX

@misc{espinal2026adidata,
  title     = {{ADI} v2026.1: Agent Delegability Index data, code and {MCP} server},
  author    = {Espinal Maya, Cristian and Jim{\'e}nez Londo{\~n}o, Santiago},
  year      = {2026},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  version   = {v2026.1},
  doi       = {10.5281/zenodo.23552918},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23552918},
  note      = {Record: Photographic products machine operators (ISCO-08 8132)}
}

Machine-readable

The same record as static JSON, with its citation: /adi/v2026.1/isco/8132.json.

Compare with another occupation How it is measured