(NewsNation) — A high-ranking Uber executive said he is uncertain whether AI is providing the company with sufficient benefits to justify its costs.
In a recent interview on the business podcast, Rapid Response, Uber President and Chief Operating Officer Andrew Macdonald said it has been difficult to determine if the company’s use of AI tools has led to measurable improvements for consumers.
“That link is not there yet,” Macdonald said. “It’s very hard to draw a line between one of those stats and, ‘Okay, now we’re actually producing 25% more useful consumer features.’”
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Macdonald said the impact of AI investments may become clearer over “the coming quarters and years,” but believes the benefits are currently difficult to quantify.
His comments follow remarks earlier this month by Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who said on an earnings call that the company was slowing hiring to accommodate increased investments in AI, according to Business Insider.
Macdonald also said Uber should begin evaluating the costs of its AI use relative to its employee count.
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“We’re going to have to start talking about token consumption and the associated cost versus headcount,” he said. “So if you’re not actually able to draw a direct line to how much useful features and functionality you’re shipping to your users, that trade becomes harder to justify because it’s not free. AI is not free.”
Macdonald said internal discussions about AI spending intensified after Chief Technology Officer Praveen Neppalli Naga went viral in April for saying Uber had already blown through its 2026 AI budget just four months into the year, as reported by Business Insider.
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