{ "source": "Cooked Index — occupational AI risk register", "page": "https://cookedindex.com/jobs/information-and-record-clerks-all-other/", "methodology": "https://cookedindex.com/methodology", "notice": "Verdicts are re-examined as evidence accumulates. Re-fetch before relying on this; the page above always carries the current score.", "scored_at": "2026-08-11", "model": "claude-opus-5", "occupation": { "title": "Information and Record Clerks, All Other", "soc_code": "43-4199", "category": "Office", "us_employment": 134920, "median_annual_wage": 49500 }, "verdict": "COOKED", "risk_resistance": 17, "contested": false, "near_boundary": false, "dimensions": { "task_resistance": 4, "embodiment": 4, "liability_shield": 1, "trust_premium": 5, "judgment_accountability": 3 }, "reasoning": { "task_resistance": "Pulling a record by ID, keying fields off a submitted form, cross-checking that they match the file, and emailing back a status — these are the four things that fill the day, and OCR plus a records-database query already does each one without a person, which is why this sits at 4 rather than in the mixed band.", "embodiment": "The only physical work is walking to a file cabinet or shelf, handing paper across a counter, and occasionally scanning a batch — real, but confined to a climate-controlled records room, so it earns 4 rather than 0 and nowhere near a field role.", "liability_shield": "No state licence, no certification exam, no notary seal required to look up a record or accept an intake form; if a record is wrong the agency or employer answers for it, and the clerk's name appears nowhere binding — hence 1, not 0 only because some records positions require a background check to touch the system.", "trust_premium": "Some counter regulars and internal departments learn which clerk actually finds things, and that familiarity has value, but the requester wants the record, not you — swap the person behind the window and nobody cancels their request, which caps this at 5.", "judgment_accountability": "Decisions are of the form \"is field 7 blank\" and \"does this request match the release-of-information rules in the manual\" — escalate anything unusual to a supervisor; the 3 reflects that you do choose when to escalate, but you never own the outcome of the ambiguous call." }, "rationale": "This catch-all clerical category is built from record lookup, form intake, data verification, filing, and answering routine inquiries by phone, email, or counter — the exact work that document AI, chatbots, and self-service portals already do at acceptable quality. There is no licensure, no signature requirement, and almost no discretion beyond applying a written procedure to a submitted form. The modal worker sits at a screen in a records office; the small in-person counter component is the only part that resists.", "outlook": "Headcount in this category shrinks substantially over ten years as self-service portals and document AI absorb intake and inquiry work, leaving a smaller core focused on exceptions, compliance, and in-person verification.", "what_would_raise_it": { "levers": [ { "dimension": "task_resistance", "change": "Task-mix shift within records offices: once portals and document AI absorb routine lookups and form intake, the residual clerk work is exception handling — identity discrepancies, sealed/expunged records, fraudulent or altered documents, conflicting source records. Watch for job postings in vital records and court clerk offices retitled toward 'records exception analyst' or 'identity verification specialist'. This is a real two-tier job, but the residual tier is small and supports far fewer workers.", "plausibility": "already happening", "would_add": 3 }, { "dimension": "liability_shield", "change": "Records-integrity rules that name a human custodian: state vital records statutes and court e-filing rules that require a named deputy registrar or deputy clerk to attest to a certified copy or an apostille-eligible record. If states extend certification-attestation requirements to AI-assisted record retrieval (analogous to notary law updates on remote online notarization), the attesting clerk becomes a required human signature.", "plausibility": "plausible", "would_add": 4 }, { "dimension": "judgment_accountability", "change": "Records access denial decisions under public-records law (FOIA/state equivalents) and privacy law (HIPAA release-of-information, FERPA) becoming explicitly non-delegable to automated systems — e.g. state AI-in-government-decisions bills requiring a human reviewer for any denial of a record request or redaction determination. Colorado SB24-205 and similar consequential-decision statutes are the template.", "plausibility": "plausible", "would_add": 3 }, { "dimension": "embodiment", "change": "Physical custody work that cannot be portal-ized: chain-of-custody handling of paper originals, wet-signature archives, evidence rooms, and deed/plat books in jurisdictions where statute still requires paper retention. Raises only for the subset in courthouses and county recorders, not the modal screen worker.", "plausibility": "already happening", "would_add": 2 } ], "ceiling_note": "Even with every lever, this stays a low-scoring occupation. The levers apply to specific slices — vital records, court clerks, release-of-information in hospitals — not to the 43-4199 catch-all, most of which is generic intake with no statutory hook. There is no realistic route to a trust premium: buyers of record lookups do not pay extra for a human, and counter service is being replaced by kiosks. Headcount falls regardless of whether the remaining roles get more protected." }, "adjudication": null, "employment_history": { "points": [ { "y": 2017, "emp": 161250, "wage": 39860 }, { "y": 2018, "emp": 155220, "wage": 40950 }, { "y": 2019, "emp": 153850, "wage": 41360 }, { "y": 2020, "emp": 148870, "wage": 42820 }, { "y": 2021, "emp": 155080, "wage": 43160 }, { "y": 2022, "emp": 150590, "wage": 44720 }, { "y": 2023, "emp": 151760, "wage": 46210 }, { "y": 2024, "emp": 143910, "wage": 48360 }, { "y": 2025, "emp": 134920, "wage": 49500 } ], "from": 2017, "to": 2025, "change_pct": -16.3, "comparable_from": 2019, "spans_soc_revision": true }, "pivots": [], "license": "https://cookedindex.com/terms" }