On a recent appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, entrepreneur Mark Cuban gave his unfiltered opinion about artificial intelligence and what he claimed the future held for us. While the two discussed a number of topics, ranging from healthcare to politics, the most interesting part of Cuban’s comments was in respect to AI; that optimism must be tempered with caution.

Cuban stressed the unprecedented nature of AI’s development, stating: “With large language models, we have no idea whether it’s going to zig, or zag, or what the impact is going to be.” This uncertainty, he explained, is both a blessing and a curse for the United States, which currently leads in AI innovation.

The tech mogul expressed concern about the concentration of power enabled by AI technologies.

“Everybody just gets whatever they’re seeing reinforced, and if you want to influence somebody, just manipulate the algorithm, and you’ll get their attention,” Cuban warned, highlighting the potential for AI-driven manipulation of public opinion.

Despite these risks, Cuban remains bullish on American ingenuity in the AI space.

“I still believe that we’ve got the best technologists in the world, and I think that’s why we have to open that door for AI,” he argued. This optimism is tempered by his acknowledgment of the global race for AI dominance, noting that “if we don’t do it, the Chinese and the Russians will.”

Cuban also touched on the rapid pace of AI advancement compared to previous technological revolutions.

“The only thing that holds AI back is processing power, electricity, and ingenuity,” he remarked, underscoring the potential for swift and dramatic changes in various industries.

While the interview explored other topics, such as Cuban’s work in shaking up the pharmaceutical industry with Cost Plus Drugs, his view on AI put forth a technology that is on the cusp of remolding society in ways that most can only vaguely conceive. To a world that grapples with the deep implications powerful technology like this presents, the words of Cuban are pointed toward innovation and will soberly remind us of challenges.

Featured image: Credit: The Daily Show