AI Is Coming for Uber Drivers—But Maybe Not Chauffeurs

Autonomous cars are going to replace my Uber gig.

Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not next year. But it’s coming, and the math is obvious. Software doesn’t get tired. It doesn’t argue with passengers. It doesn’t need tips. It doesn’t slip on ice and throw its back out.

Instead of denying what’s coming, I reframed the question: If AI is dividing, not destroying, industries, what roles will persist, and where should we pivot before it’s too late?

The core distinction isn't just about job loss, but about which types of roles are at risk and which will endure.

• Uber driver versus chauffeur.

• Programmer versus designer.

• Doctor versus nurse.

• Lawyer versus negotiator.

• Manager versus entrepreneur.

• Professor versus teacher.

• Content producer versus artist.

A clear pattern emerges: AI targets roles built on abstraction rather than physical or human-centered presence. Understanding this division is key to future-proofing your career.

If your job is primarily about analysis, diagnosis, research, writing contracts, managing schedules, or optimizing systems, you’re competing directly with software. And software is getting very good. But if your job requires physical presence, trust, taste, responsibility, or human coordination in the room, that’s harder to automate.

Take driving.

The act of transporting someone from Point A to Point B will absolutely be automated. The car will handle it. That doesn’t mean mobility disappears. It means the role changes.

There may still be someone in the car, not to drive, but to coordinate, assist, load luggage, provide security, monitor belongings, and create a seamless experience. That’s not a driver. That’s a chauffeur. Or an attendant. Or something we haven’t named yet.

Same world. Different job.

Look at programming. Writing code line by line is already being automated. But designing systems? Imagining solutions? Seeing a problem and architecting something useful? That moves up the chain.

Or medicine. AI will likely diagnose better than most doctors. It can process symptoms, imaging, lab results, and research faster than any human. But bedside care? Putting in an IV? Sitting with a patient? Explaining something with empathy? That doesn’t go away.

Lawyers may see routine legal work automated. But negotiation, representation, and power brokerage survive. Middle managers assigning tasks? AI agents will handle that. But owner-operators taking risks? That’s different. In the future, robots may handle repetitive tasks. But craftsmanship, artistry, customization, and vision remain distinctive.

Ultimately, the shift AI brings isn’t about collar color but about whether your work is abstract or embodied. This distinction defines which jobs survive.

AI replaces the middle layer first. It replaces the optimizer before the operator. The coordinator before the creator. The credential before the reputation. And ownership matters more than ever.

Real estate agents might get squeezed. Property owners won’t. Platform workers might disappear. Asset owners adapt. Content producers will flood the internet. Artists will stand out.

I’m telling my kids and grandkids to move toward:

• Ownership

• Craft

• Presence

• Risk

• Human trust

• Physical reality

Because software lives in abstraction. Reality lives in the room.

I'm 51, with over 15,000 Uber trips under my belt. Drivers aren't the future, but mobility is. The real question is what part of your work will endure as AI arrives.

Same profession.

New outcome.