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Uber is racing to add robotaxis to its ride-hailing network, even as drivers express concerns.
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Its robotaxi chief said drivers' role would change, with robotaxis set to dominate in city centers.
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He added Uber would still need human drivers, with self-driving cars struggling in extreme weather.
Uber drivers are already sharing the road with robot rivals — and it could be about to change their jobs forever.
Andrew Macdonald, Uber's senior vice president who oversees its autonomous vehicle operations, said that while human drivers would remain crucial to its ride-hailing business, they would soon face serious competition from self-driving taxis in city centers.
"I am almost certain that there will be more Uber drivers in 10 years, not less, because I think the world will move from individual car ownership to mobility as a service," said Macdonald, who was speaking during the Financial Times' Future of the Car conference.
"You'll continue to see that pie grow. But it will look different. You'll have urban cores where a large percentage of trips are serviced by autonomous vehicles. And to some, that will feel like very abrupt change," he added.
Uber has struck multiple deals with robotaxi companies to host their autonomous vehicles on its app over the past year.
The ride-hailing giant allows users to hail Waymo vehicles in Austin and Phoenix, with Atlanta set to follow later this year.
On Uber's earnings call last week, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi hailed the Austin launch as a major success, telling analysts that the Waymo robotaxis in Austin were busier than "99%" of its human drivers.
Uber's aggressive self-driving push — which has also seen it strike deals with Volkswagen, Wayve, and the Chinese firms WeRide and Pony AI — has come as its drivers express growing concern about the impact of driverless taxis on their livelihoods.
Uber drivers in Phoenix previously told Business Insider that their earnings were already being hurt by competition from Waymo, with some saying they intended to shun short-distance city center trips in favor of more profitable airport pickups.
Macdonald said that he didn't think the growth of the robotaxi industry was having an effect on driver earnings or opportunities just yet.
But he added that he expected drivers would start feeling the impact soon in cities where robotaxis are becoming common, such as Austin, Los Angeles, and parts of China.
Macdonald said that Uber was pursuing a "hybrid marketplace" with a mix of human and robot drivers handling different types of routes.