How will artificial intelligence change the work of taxi drivers and delivery drivers?

Autonomous vehicles are already being tested in major cities, but it'll be a while before they can fully replace drivers - there are a ton of safety and legal issues to sort out first. For the next few years, AI is more likely to help drivers out: navigation systems will get more accurate, apps will do a better job distributing orders, and cameras and sensors will improve road safety. There's really only a reason to worry if you're not willing to adapt - drivers who adjust to new technology and use it to their advantage will stay in demand.

I'd reframe the question: what you should worry about isn't really replacement, but adapting to new requirements. Right now, many services are already rolling out real-time route and driver behavior tracking systems - it cuts into your paycheck through fines for deviations, but here's what actually helps: if you're doing delivery work, learn to read these optimization algorithms and adjust to them deliberately, not blindly. Fully autonomous vehicles really will be able to handle good weather and familiar routes in like 5-10 years, but people will be trusted with the tricky stuff for a long time yet - road repairs, urgent orders, poor visibility. The real threat isn't robot cars, it's companies expecting drivers to take on more roles - maintenance, customer service, handling complaints - for the same or lower pay.

The main thing is not to panic prematurely, but to start preparing for changes now. AI in logistics and taxi doesn't work to replace drivers, but to optimize their work: these are routing systems that save fuel, apps that predict demand, safety analytics through in-car cameras. All of this is already being implemented, and drivers need to get used to constant monitoring and following the algorithms that the system suggests. It's annoying, but it's not taking jobs away yet.

Self-driving cars are a different story, and the previous answers correctly point out how complicated it is. In reality, fully autonomous vehicles only work in controlled conditions so far (certain areas of major cities, good weather, predictable routes). Russian roads, our climate, unpredictability on the highways - all of this is still very far from being solved. Even abroad, it's moving slowly.

Where I've seen this - a friend of mine drives for one delivery service, and over a year and a half they changed the requirements five times: first they installed cameras, then introduced a new route rating system, recently added biometric entry. Every time you have to retrain and adapt, but nobody's been fired. You shouldn't worry about a robot coming and taking your job, but about how conditions will keep changing and you need to be more flexible.