Why Truck Drivers Are Thriving in the AI Boom: The Blue-Collar Jobs AI Can't Replace

I’ve been a truck driver since I was 18 years old. I took a load across state lines on the very first day I was legally able to do so – my 21st birthday – and I’ve held a commercial driver's license (CDL) now for over 30 years.

Blue-collar guys like me have heard a lot from media elites about how our jobs will one day be irrelevant. We’ve been told that technology will replace us, and that we’ll need to find new skill sets to make a living.

But now the world’s tech leaders – the ones who are driving the AI revolution – insist that people like me are actually the foundation of the technology shaping the future. Microsoft President Brad Smith believes that a new generation of skilled tradesmen is needed to enable coders and data scientists, and in January, Nvidia boss Jensen Huang predicted that people working to build technology facilities will soon be earning six-figure salaries.

The numbers prove them right. This year, Big Tech is going to spend an estimated $650 billion to catch up with infrastructure needs, like expanded data center capacity, to support artificial intelligence technology.

By the end of the decade, new investments in data center spending are expected to reach nearly $3 trillion in the United States alone.

And those centers won’t get built by desk-bound workers who don’t know how to use their hands. More than 300,000 new electricians in the next decade will be needed to bring the facilities online, as well as legions of plumbers, construction workers and other skilled tradesmen. It will also require transporting all the pieces that create buildings and the technology therein to hundreds of locations around the country.

AI Won't Replace Truck Drivers or Other Blue-Collar Jobs

I am an operations director for a logistics company that has hauled everything from people’s bedrooms to heavy data servers for over 80 years, and we see and feel this boom every day. Several of our 70-plus licensed drivers are under 25 and have completed our industry-leading training program.

These are young people who leave high school and want to launch lifelong careers with good pay and benefits from day one. We’re also working with 18-year-olds, who are being trained to succeed in high-intensity situations like hauling 40 tons at 70 miles per hour cross-country.

Contrary to the narrative academia and city elites claim, I also believe that blue-collar jobs will be safe from AI for the foreseeable future. There are jobs computers just can’t do.

Perhaps a machine can drive a truck when it’s on the turnpike or some other controlled environment, but good outcomes in the most critical moments still depend on an experienced human operator making the right decisions. That’s why we put so much emphasis on training for drivers managing a fully loaded rig, navigating a city’s grid requiring tight turns in dense traffic or preventing thieves trying to steal cargo.

Logistics means “truck driving,” but also much more than getting stuff from point A to point B. In the data center boom, logistics teams are effectively part of the build itself: helping procure and move specialized equipment from overseas, coordinating secure shipments and making sure critical components arrive in the right order at the right time.

When deliveries slip, entire projects stall because you can’t install cooling, power, racks or switchgear until the right hardware is on site. In many cases, the driver and logistics crew aren’t just delivering; they’re also supporting the installation process, handling sensitive loads and keeping the build schedule on track.

The irony of all this new technology is that it’s white-collar workers who are now feeling the squeeze. During the Industrial Revolution, the first time tech revolutionized the world of work, it was muscle power that was automated. Back then, technological progress harmed blue-collar jobs.

This time around, it's very different: World-changing tech is uprooting people from office roles, and blue-collar workers are finding their star rising again.

Over here in the world of 10-speeds and 18-wheelers, we’re optimistic. This could be the golden age of the working class, and truckers like us are excited to be at the center of it.

Kris Edney is the director of Service Center Operations at Interstate Moving, Relocation, Logistics, Inc. in Springfield, Virginia.