UK AI Exposure · Skilled trades occupations
Stonemasons and related trades
Stonemasons erect and repair structures of stone and similar materials and cut, shape and polish granite, marble, slate and other stone for building, ornamental and other purposes.
- Employees (UK)
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- Median annual pay
- -
- Exposure score ?
- 0.0/10 Minimal 0.4/10 Minimal strict reading · with tools is 0.4/10 with-tools reading · strict is 0.0/10
- Wage exposure
- - -
Higher exposure than 6% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means
Most of this role's work is still genuinely hard for AI to do. Physical presence, bodily skill, high-context judgment, direct human care - the things that don't translate to text.
If you're in this role, here's what to do now
You're not in the firing line today. But the frontier moves. Build enough AI fluency now that you can direct it for the parts of your work that could benefit. People in unexposed roles who understand AI become unusually valuable inside their organisations.
Most of this role's work is still genuinely hard for AI to do. Physical presence, bodily skill, high-context judgment, direct human care - the things that don't translate to text.
If you're in this role, here's what to do now
You're not in the firing line today. But the frontier moves. Build enough AI fluency now that you can direct it for the parts of your work that could benefit. People in unexposed roles who understand AI become unusually valuable inside their organisations.
Where a project with Alex usually starts for this role
This role's strict reading is low because its top tasks are judgment, not drafting. The three highest-stakes tasks below are still usually where we start — flip the toggle to 'With tools' to see what AI plus the right context can compress.
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Set vertical and horizontal alignment of structures, using plumb bob, gauge line, and level.
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Lay out wall patterns or foundations, using straight edge, rule, or staked lines.
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Set stone or marble in place, according to layout or pattern.
Most roles have at least three wedges where AI plus the right tools removes real time. For this role the labelling doesn't surface obvious ones, so we'd start with the highest-stakes tasks below and figure out the AI angle in conversation.
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Set vertical and horizontal alignment of structures, using plumb bob, gauge line, and level.
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Lay out wall patterns or foundations, using straight edge, rule, or staked lines.
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Set stone or marble in place, according to layout or pattern.
Every role has three or four wedges like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days. Talk to Alex about a project →
The full task breakdown
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can already do unaided versus what still needs a human. Importance is O*NET's 1–5 rating of how central each task is to the role.
Tasks via O*NET "Stonemasons" (47-2022.00).
What AI can already do
0 of 16 tasks · unaided
No tasks here are labelled as something an LLM can do unaided. Switch to 'With tools' above to see what changes when AI is paired with the right context.
Where humans still hold the line
16 of 16 tasks
Set vertical and horizontal alignment of structures, using plumb bob, gauge line, and level.
Lay out wall patterns or foundations, using straight edge, rule, or staked lines.
Set stone or marble in place, according to layout or pattern.
Remove wedges, fill joints between stones, finish joints between stones, using a trowel, and smooth the mortar to an attractive finish, using a tuck pointer.
Clean excess mortar or grout from surface of marble, stone, or monument, using sponge, brush, water, or acid.
Shape, trim, face and cut marble or stone preparatory to setting, using power saws, cutting equipment, and hand tools.
Mix mortar or grout and pour or spread mortar or grout on marble slabs, stone, or foundation.
Construct and install prefabricated masonry units.
Smooth, polish, and bevel surfaces, using hand tools and power tools.
Lay brick to build shells of chimneys and smokestacks or to line or reline industrial furnaces, kilns, boilers and similar installations.
Replace broken or missing masonry units in walls or floors.
Remove sections of monument from truck bed, and guide stone onto foundation, using skids, hoist, or truck crane.
Drill holes in marble or ornamental stone and anchor brackets in holes.
Dig trench for foundation of monument, using pick and shovel.
Repair cracked or chipped areas of stone or marble, using blowtorch and mastic, and remove rough or defective spots from concrete, using power grinder or chisel and hammer.
Position mold along guidelines of wall, press mold in place, and remove mold and paper from wall.
Tasks via O*NET "Stonemasons" (47-2022.00).
What AI can already do
0 of 16 tasks · with tools
Even with tools, no tasks here are labelled as something AI can do today. The work is judgment, presence, or context-heavy enough that the academic labelling sees no leverage.
Where humans still hold the line
16 of 16 tasks
Set vertical and horizontal alignment of structures, using plumb bob, gauge line, and level.
Lay out wall patterns or foundations, using straight edge, rule, or staked lines.
Set stone or marble in place, according to layout or pattern.
Remove wedges, fill joints between stones, finish joints between stones, using a trowel, and smooth the mortar to an attractive finish, using a tuck pointer.
Clean excess mortar or grout from surface of marble, stone, or monument, using sponge, brush, water, or acid.
Shape, trim, face and cut marble or stone preparatory to setting, using power saws, cutting equipment, and hand tools.
Mix mortar or grout and pour or spread mortar or grout on marble slabs, stone, or foundation.
Construct and install prefabricated masonry units.
Smooth, polish, and bevel surfaces, using hand tools and power tools.
Lay brick to build shells of chimneys and smokestacks or to line or reline industrial furnaces, kilns, boilers and similar installations.
Replace broken or missing masonry units in walls or floors.
Remove sections of monument from truck bed, and guide stone onto foundation, using skids, hoist, or truck crane.
Drill holes in marble or ornamental stone and anchor brackets in holes.
Dig trench for foundation of monument, using pick and shovel.
Repair cracked or chipped areas of stone or marble, using blowtorch and mastic, and remove rough or defective spots from concrete, using power grinder or chisel and hammer.
Position mold along guidelines of wall, press mold in place, and remove mold and paper from wall.
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Methodology
This role's exposure score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 GPT task labels, aggregated by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 via ISCO-08 (ONS Vol 2 coding index) and US SOC 2010 (BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional. ASHE covers employees only, so self-employed workers are not counted.
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