A quiet but telling shift is playing out on the streets of Atlanta. Some Uber passengers, given the choice between a human driver and a driverless Waymo, are deliberately refusing the human option — waiting longer, canceling trips, and re-requesting rides until a robotaxi appears.

What once felt like a futuristic experiment is now turning into a customer preference, and it may mark the beginning of a profound transformation in ride-hailing.

Since Uber introduced Waymo’s self-driving cars into its Atlanta platform in late June, residents like Nate Galesic have leaned heavily into the technology. He admits to declining trip after trip until the app assigns him a robotaxi, a habit he has repeated for more than 35 rides. As an assistant director for TV and film products, Galesic told BI he usually drives himself home after a long day on set. Not having to drive — or face judgment from a ride-hailing driver if he nods off along the way — is another benefit of autonomous vehicles, he said.

“I’ve always dreamt about the day when I could just pass out on the way to and from work,” Galesic told BI. “Now I can do that without the small talk.”

Another rider, Andrew Nerney, describes a similar approach: canceling multiple times until he finally lands a Waymo, even though most of his trips are short, under $12.

“Each day, I see Waymos with passengers more frequently,” he added, underscoring that this is no longer a novelty but an emerging preference.

The behavior captures a pivotal moment. For the first time, Uber’s customers are openly demonstrating that they would rather trust algorithms, sensors, and software than a gig worker behind the wheel. While Uber users cannot guarantee that they’ll get a ride in a Waymo in Atlanta, some are working the system to get paired with one.

The implications are enormous, not just for Uber but for the entire gig economy.

Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, has gradually expanded from its first commercial rides in Phoenix in 2017 to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin, with a fleet of more than 1,500 fully driverless cars. Atlanta now joins that map, though for the moment Uber and Waymo only operate “dozens” of cars within a limited 65-square-mile zone. The companies say the fleet will grow into “hundreds” in the coming years, mirroring Austin, where about 100 are already deployed.

But what feels like progress for tech enthusiasts spells potential disaster for Uber’s drivers. Uber has long described its flexible labor model as a gateway to income for millions worldwide. If more riders follow Galesic and Nerney’s example — canceling human drivers to wait for robots — that workforce risks being pushed aside, with automation directly replacing people rather than complementing them.

Many believe that the early signs in Atlanta could be the “first crack” in Uber’s labor model. For Uber, autonomy has always been part of its long game. Labor is its single biggest cost, and replacing drivers with driverless cars is a way to lower expenses and eventually boost profitability.

Former CEO Travis Kalanick openly admitted the company’s survival depended on driverless cars. While the company now frames partnerships like the one with Waymo as “expanding choice,” the trajectory is clear.

But the transformation is far from complete. Robotaxis still face skepticism, safety concerns, and regulatory hurdles. Crashes involving autonomous systems have kept regulators cautious, and polls consistently show Americans are more uneasy than excited about self-driving technology.

Frank McCleary, a partner at consulting firm Arthur D. Little’s automotive and manufacturing practice, said deadly accidents involving self-driving vehicles are one reason that potential riders might be wary.

“That negative news cycle has sort of pushed some folks away from it,” he told Business Insider.

Yet for a growing number of riders, those hesitations are secondary to convenience. “New tech doesn’t become massively adopted overnight,” Galesic said. “But once you’ve experienced a driverless ride, it’s hard to go back.”

The long-term question is no longer whether Uber drivers will be replaced, but how fast — and whether the gig economy that reshaped modern work can survive this tech evolution.

Washington is weighing what could be the most significant concession from Moscow since the war in Ukraine began.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to let the United States and European partners extend “Article 5-like protection” to Ukraine as part of a possible security guarantee aimed at ending the conflict.

“We were able to win the following concession: that the United States could offer Article Five-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,” Witkoff said in an interview on CNN. “It was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that.”

NATO’s Article 5 obligates all members of the alliance to treat an attack on one as an attack on all, compelling collective defense measures. For Ukraine, which has long sought NATO membership as a shield against Moscow, the promise of such protection — even outside formal membership — would mark a historic shift.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the U.S. announcement, saying the European Union “is ready to do its share.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also hailed the development as “a historic decision,” stressing that any guarantee must be practical, offering protection “on land, in the air, and at sea,” and must involve Europe.

The envoy’s remarks come just after President Donald Trump held talks with Putin in Alaska, meetings that the White House described as “productive” despite the absence of a ceasefire agreement. Trump had repeatedly called for a swift and lasting truce, but the summit ended without such a breakthrough, raising concerns in Kyiv and European capitals that the U.S. leader might soften Washington’s stance.

In the days since, Trump has insisted that “the best way” to end the conflict is through a comprehensive peace deal. Witkoff said the Alaska talks covered “almost all the other issues necessary for a peace deal,” though he declined to detail them, adding only that “we began to see some moderation in the way they’re thinking about getting to a final peace deal.”

Still, U.S. officials caution that a resolution remains distant. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that while progress was made, “we’re still a long ways off” from a peace agreement. He warned Russia would face “additional consequences” if talks collapse, but argued against further sanctions for now.

“The minute you levy additional sanctions, strong additional sanctions, the talking stops,” Rubio said on ABC News.

However, the proposal stirs curiosity. If Putin truly accepted Article 5-style security conditions for Ukraine, it would contradict one of Moscow’s main justifications for its invasion: blocking Kyiv’s NATO aspirations. The Kremlin has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine abandon those ambitions and recognize Russia’s annexations of Crimea and large parts of eastern Ukraine.

Reports following Friday’s summit suggested Trump floated a deal in which Kyiv would surrender the Donbas region. Zelenskyy, however, has been adamant that Ukraine will never cede sovereign territory, saying doing so would breach the Constitution and embolden Russia to strike again.

“Everyone agrees that borders must not be changed by force,” he wrote on X.

With Trump scheduled to meet Zelenskyy and European leaders on Monday, discussions are expected to focus on what security guarantees should look like and how Ukraine could be rebuilt after nearly four years of devastating war.

“There has to be talk about what the territories are going to look like and what the border lines are going to look like at the end of this conflict,” Rubio said. “There has to be talk about how Ukraine is rebuilt, and how do you rebuild a country that’s been attacked as often as it has.”

For Kyiv, that rebuilding begins with assurances that the nightmare of invasion will not be repeated — and for now, Putin’s unexpected concession may be the closest it has come to that guarantee.