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How exposed to AI is a Embalmer?

Of the 26 tasks O*NET lists for embalmers, 0 could be done in half the time with a chat window today. 24 cannot be sped up at all. Here is which.

Exposure means published research judged an AI could halve the time a task takes, at the same quality. It does not mean the task stops needing a person. How to read this

Also called
EmbalmerLicensed EmbalmerTrade Embalmer
Reachable today Needs software built first Cannot be sped up
26
tasks rated for this occupation
14%
hold a degree, from a survey of 20
4k
people do this job in the US
31 of 31
least protected in personal care

Every task, and what AI can do with it

These are O*NET's task statements for this occupation, exactly as written, sorted into the three bands by the ratings behind this report. Nothing has been reworded.

Only with software built on top

2
  • Conform to laws of health and sanitation and ensure that legal requirements concerning embalming are met
  • Maintain records, such as itemized lists of clothing or valuables delivered with body and names of persons embalmed

Cannot be sped up

24
  • Apply cosmetics to impart lifelike appearance to the deceased
  • Join lips, using needles and thread or wire
  • Close incisions, using needles and sutures
  • Incise stomach and abdominal walls and probe internal organs, using trocar, to withdraw blood and waste matter from organs
  • Clean and disinfect areas in which bodies are prepared and embalmed
  • Dress bodies and place them in caskets
  • Make incisions in arms or thighs and drain blood from circulatory system and replace it with embalming fluid, using pump
  • Remove the deceased from place of death and transport to funeral home
  • Perform the duties of funeral directors, including coordinating funeral activities
  • Attach trocar to pump-tube, start pump, and repeat probing to force embalming fluid into organs
  • Reshape or reconstruct disfigured or maimed bodies when necessary, using dermasurgery techniques and materials such as clay, cotton, plaster of Paris, and wax
  • Pack body orifices with cotton saturated with embalming fluid to prevent escape of gases or waste matter
  • Conduct interviews to arrange for the preparation of obituary notices, to assist with the selection of caskets or urns, and to determine the location and time of burials or cremations
  • Insert convex celluloid or cotton between eyeballs and eyelids to prevent slipping and sinking of eyelids
  • Assist with placing caskets in hearses and organize cemetery processions
  • Wash and dry bodies, using germicidal soap and towels or hot air dryers
  • Arrange for transporting the deceased to another state for interment
  • Perform special procedures necessary for remains that are to be transported to other states or overseas, or where death was caused by infectious disease
  • Supervise funeral attendants and other funeral home staff
  • Serve as pallbearers, attend visiting rooms, and provide other assistance to the bereaved
  • Direct casket and floral display placement and arrange guest seating
  • Arrange funeral home equipment and perform general maintenance
  • Assist coroners at death scenes or at autopsies, file police reports, and testify at inquests or in court, if employed by a coroner
  • Press diaphragm to evacuate air from lungs
What this does not say

This is not a prediction about your job

Nobody surveyed an employer. Tasks are counted equally, so a percentage here is a share of the list rather than a share of your week. And the ratings were made in 2023, which makes every figure a floor rather than a ceiling.

It must never be used to select anyone for redundancy. The full limits are here.

Where to go next

This is the standard task list for the title. The useful next question is which of the tasks you actually do should go near AI, and which should not.

Sort your own tasks Read the full report

Exposure ratings from Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock, GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs, Science 384, 1306–1308, 2024, used under the MIT licence. This page includes information from the O*NET Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. People Team AI has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Employment figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.