Job Check
Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners
Perform precision smoothing, sharpening, polishing, or grinding of metal objects.
10 main tasks · most important first
Your main tasks and AI
Importance- 01Monitor machine operations to determine whether adjustments are necessary, stopping machines when problems occur.Mostly human for now
- 02Select and mount grinding wheels on machines, according to specifications, using hand tools and applying knowledge of abrasives and grinding procedures.Mostly human for now
- 03Set up and operate grinding or polishing machines to grind metal workpieces, such as dies, parts, and tools.Mostly human for now
- 04Inspect, feel, and measure workpieces to ensure that surfaces and dimensions meet specifications.Mostly human for now
- 05Perform basic maintenance, such as cleaning and lubricating machine parts.Mostly human for now
- 06Remove finished workpieces from machines and place them in boxes or on racks, setting aside pieces that are defective.Mostly human for now
- 07Study blueprints or layouts of metal workpieces to determine grinding procedures, and to plan machine setups and operational sequences.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 08Dress grinding wheels, according to specifications.Mostly human for now
- 09Remove and replace worn or broken machine parts, using hand tools.Mostly human for now
- 10Fit parts together in pre-assembly to ensure that dimensions are accurate.Mostly human for now
Tasks from O*NET® 31.0 (US Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0, changed by us), most important first. “Already use” comes from Anthropic’s data on real work chats with Claude; “could speed up” from task ratings made with GPT-4 in 2023.
Four studies, side by side
None is a forecast of job lossToo little dataNot enough work use was seen to measure. This does not mean the job is safe from AI.Anthropic, 2026
3%of this job’s tasks an AI model could do in half the time, counting tasks that need extra tools as half (rated in 2023).Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock, 2023
Above 29% of jobsin how often and how well AI helped with this job’s work in Microsoft Copilot chats (2024 data).Microsoft Research (Tomlinson et al.), 2025
Above 89% of jobsin how much of this job’s physical work robots have been shown to do, from factories to homes (2026).Anthropic, 2026
Your human edge
The main tasks with no real AI use seen and no big speed-up expected. This is where your skill counts most today.
- Monitor machine operations to determine whether adjustments are necessary, stopping machines when problems occur.
- Select and mount grinding wheels on machines, according to specifications, using hand tools and applying knowledge of abrasives and grinding procedures.
- Set up and operate grinding or polishing machines to grind metal workpieces, such as dies, parts, and tools.