Mark Cuban, the American businessman and entrepreneur, says artificial intelligence just made something possible that he couldn’t pull off in the past, and it only took minutes.
“I had an idea that in the past I didn’t have the time or ability to do all the work needed to see if it was viable,” Cuban wrote on Bluesky.
But with ChatGPT and Gemini, “it took me less than 10 minutes to get to the point where I had all the bill of materials and manufacturing path and a patent application.”
He called the experience “insane,” and his post sparked a wide-ranging conversation about AI’s role in innovation, entrepreneurship, and the risks that come with it.
AI Helps Cuban Move Fast
Cuban admitted that in the past, he wouldn’t have moved forward with his idea at all.
The workload, cost, and time involved made it unfeasible. But this time was different. ” I might file it and get comments back. Then I can decide whether to use a lawyer,” he explained.
“Either way, I’ll learn a lot.”
The billionaire believes that AI is leveling the playing field for inventors and builders.
“What took paying a lot of people to do, someone can do themself,” he wrote. “It’s an entrepreneur’s dream come true.”
And because the tech is evolving so quickly, Cuban said there will be brand-new business models and opportunities that no one has even thought of yet.
He also sees the technology as a potential turning point for domestic manufacturing. AI and robotics, he says, can enable companies to produce goods in the U.S. instead of relying on cheaper labor overseas.
“Jobs will evolve,” he wrote.
He also floated the idea of taxing robots by the hour and emphasized that humans will still be essential: “There isn’t just one AI. Someone has to decide which to use. Someone has to train the robots and fix them.”
Supporters Say AI Is a Game-Changer
Some commenters chimed in with examples from their own lives.
One teacher said AI has helped reduce grading time and prep work, potentially making the profession less overwhelming and more attractive to younger generations.
In the business world, a sales professional said his productivity jumped thanks to AI tools that recap meetings, automate follow-ups, and reduce manual data entry.
A person researching their family tree said ChatGPT solved a problem they’d been stuck on for months, something even Ancestry couldn’t crack.
They said it saved them thousands of dollars that they would have spent hiring a professional.
Others noted how quickly they’ve been able to build functional MVPs and create working prototypes without knowing how to code.
Teachers, small business owners, and creatives all shared how AI is making their work easier, faster, and more ambitious.
Critics Raise Big Concerns
But not everyone was celebrating. Critics said Cuban’s enthusiasm glossed over major problems.
They argued that AI might help some entrepreneurs, but for most people, it could result in lost jobs, lower wages, and more economic instability.
“Please don’t tow the ridiculous line that the only impact of AI will be more jobs,” wrote author Scott Santens.
He noted that automation has historically made some people rich while creating lower-quality jobs for others. Increased productivity, he said, often goes hand in hand with rising inequality.
Other commenters voiced similar fears. “If you are working for somebody, you are f****d! Lower wages, more competition for any real jobs,” one person said.
Another warned that the pace of AI development is so fast, it could result in a collapse of total human employment.
Legal professionals raised concerns about using AI for patents and legal documents, pointing out that AI-generated content can be filled with hallucinations and inaccuracies.
“Legal briefs should not contain fiction,” one person said. “ChatGPT is not an author: it’s a tool.”
There were also ethical objections. Several users criticized the way AI models are trained, arguing that they rely on scraped content and unpaid labor.
Some asked what happens to consumer demand if millions of people lose their jobs and can’t afford to buy anything.
Cuban Stays Optimistic
Cuban acknowledged that AI won’t fix every issue, but remains strongly optimistic about its impact.
He compared modern AI tools to encyclopedias on demand: “Kids will have so much at their fingertips, maybe their curiosity will be satiated with real knowledge rather than endless social media scrolls.”
He emphasized how accessible the technology has become: “Anyone, 9 or 90 years old, has the same access to get started,” he wrote.
“It’s the equivalent of having someone who has read every public book, article, report, and research available to your kid for any question they want to ask.”
He even shared a personal story about how his parents saved up to buy him an encyclopedia set in the 1970s, which cost more back then than a smartphone and internet plan do today.
“Now the AI does that, and I read the links to sources after it puts together the first pass,” he said.
Cuban believes this kind of access can ignite curiosity and creativity in young people.
He imagines a future where children can learn at their own pace, with help from both teachers and AI.
“Their world will be entirely different and just might be 1,000 times better,” he said.
While critics warn of disruption and inequality, Cuban argues that history has seen this before.
Technologies that displaced workers in one era created new industries in the next.
As he put it: “New companies with new jobs will come from AI and increase TOTAL employment.”
In Cuban’s view, we’re just getting started, and the possibilities are enormous.
IMAGE CREDIT: “Mark Cuban” by Gage Skidmore, via Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Image adjusted for layout.