Cytogenetic Technologists
In short: today's best AI models could do about 63% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 72% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 28% of the time, stays with people.
Analyze chromosomes or chromosome segments found in biological specimens, such as amniotic fluids, bone marrow, solid tumors, and blood to aid in the study, diagnosis, classification, or treatment of inherited or acquired genetic diseases. Conduct analyses through classical cytogenetic, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) or array comparative genome hybridization (aCGH) techniques.
$62,930 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on25 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet4 h
- Stays with people11 h
Cytogenetic Technologists, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 25 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 4 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 11 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Analyze chromosomes found in biological specimens to aid diagnoses and treatments for genetic diseases such as congenital disabilities, fertility problems, and hematological disorders (about 4 h); Develop, implement, and monitor quality control and quality assurance programs to ensure accurate and precise test performance and reports (about 4 h); Examine chromosomes found in biological specimens to detect abnormalities (about 3 h).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 72%
- 0%
- 28%
Anthropic's data does not cover this job.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 47%. Today's estimate: 63%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 30 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.0068% to 0.026% (released February and March 2025); 0.0028% to 0.002% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.0068% | 572 of 708 | 1 of 30 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.026% | 382 of 703 | 3 of 30 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.0028% | 592 of 655 | 1 of 30 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0056% | 563 of 672 | 3 of 30 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.002% | 646 of 677 | 1 of 30 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 30 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 30 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 58% of this job's working time as physical work. For 38% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 35% in a purpose-built cell, 4% in a structured facility. 0.42 of 3, the 336th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 42%
- No robot shown 19%
- In a purpose-built cell 35%
- In a structured facility 4%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
The tasks
Sorted by . 30 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analyze chromosomes found in biological specimens to aid diagnoses and treatments for genetic diseases such as congenital disabilities, fertility problems, and hematological disorders.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 11% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Develop and implement training programs for trainees, medical students, resident physicians or post-doctoral fellows.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 11% | 2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.3 work weeks | 18%Half by Jul 2027 | |
| Develop, implement, and monitor quality control and quality assurance programs to ensure accurate and precise test performance and reports.Done daily by most who do it. | 10% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 6.7 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Count numbers of chromosomes and identify the structural abnormalities by viewing culture slides through microscopes, light microscopes, or photomicroscopes.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 9% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Examine chromosomes found in biological specimens to detect abnormalities.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Recognize and report abnormalities in the color, size, shape, composition, or pattern of cells.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 6% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.5 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Arrange and attach chromosomes in numbered pairs on karyotype charts, using standard genetics laboratory practices and nomenclature, to identify normal or abnormal chromosomes.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 6% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Create chromosome images using computer imaging systems.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Metafer / Ikaros (MetaSystems) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Describe chromosome, FISH and aCGH analysis results in International System of Cytogenetic Nomenclature (ISCN) language.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Prepare biological specimens such as amniotic fluids, bone marrow, tumors, chorionic villi, and blood, for chromosome examinations.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, HANABI-PIII Plus / P3P Metaphase Chromosome Harvester (ADS Biotec / ADSTEC) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Supervise subordinate laboratory staff.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Summarize test results and report to appropriate authorities.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Cytogenetic Technologists is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 63% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 72% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (69% to 72% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Cytogenetic Technologists come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Analyze chromosomes found in biological specimens to aid diagnoses and treatments for genetic diseases such as congenital disabilities, fertility problems, and hematological disorders (99% of the task's time now); Develop, implement, and monitor quality control and quality assurance programs to ensure accurate and precise test performance and reports (100% of the task's time now); and Examine chromosomes found in biological specimens to detect abnormalities (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Cytogenetic Technologists stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Count numbers of chromosomes and identify the structural abnormalities by viewing culture slides through microscopes, light microscopes, or photomicroscopes; Prepare biological specimens such as amniotic fluids, bone marrow, tumors, chorionic villi, and blood, for chromosome examinations; and Supervise subordinate laboratory staff. Together such tasks are about 28% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Cytogenetic Technologists?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Cytogenetic Technologists?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 58% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 38% of the working time, 4% in a structured facility. Its index is 0.42 of 3. One example: Metafer / Ikaros (MetaSystems) for "create chromosome images using computer imaging systems". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 30 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, each classed as desk, people or body work, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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