UAE: Robotaxis could edge out migrant South Asian drivers

This article was originally published in Rest of World, which covers technology’s impact outside the West.

The affluent Middle Eastern country is building the physical and regulatory infrastructure to attract the world’s leading autonomous-vehicle technology companies. It aims to have thousands of AVs on the road in the next five years – at least one in every four trips taken in its top cities.

That goal is a potential nightmare for the 30,000 cab drivers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

“Driverless cars are the future,” Faisal Q, a Pakistani driver who has been working in the UAE for more than 30 years, told Rest of World. He asked that his last name be withheld, as he is afraid of repercussions from speaking to the media. “What about my future?”

As the UAE attempts to become the testing ground for the world’s most advanced driverless technology, it will also be testing what happens when the powerful tech disrupts a largely migrant workforce.

“Large-scale displacement is inevitable for low-income jobs in the new AI and robotics-driven era,” Shahzad Sheikh, an auto industry reporter who covers cars in the Middle East, told Rest of World. “It’s the harsh truth to say, ‘Tech is now coming for low-income workers.’”

The UAE’s ambitious AV strategy is underpinned by strong regulatory and investment support....

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