Up until now I’ve never been a fan of billionaire businessman Mark Cuban, putting him in the same league as many billionaires who prioritize getting even wealthier over everything else, including their families. But judging by what I’ve seen in the last week, it’s clear that I was wrong about Mark Cuban.
Jon Stewart, who is a better interviewer than most journalists, had Cuban as a guest on “The Daily Show.” One of the things Cuban said was that he’s not chasing the next billionaire, but rather is focused on getting to know his children and grandchildren better. I wish more of his wealthy class would make this commitment, because it would benefit not only their families but the world.
Cuban and Stewart started with politics and then moved to AI, which I follow closely, and what they say about AI is spot on: we need to strike a balance between pursuing this technology responsibly and making sure our adversaries don’t take it further and put all of humanity at risk.
After talking about AI, let’s close with this week’s product: Mark Cuban’s pharmaceutical supply company operates on the concept of “openness and transparency,” an idea that has gained popularity in the tech industry, and he is against unfair prices being charged for medicines.
Cuban’s company, Cost Plus Drugs, is completely transparent and can profitably sell drugs for just tens of dollars that other companies charge thousands for — for example, he cited a drug that would normally cost $30,000 a month that Cost Plus Drugs sells for $64.
Gen Z and AI
Like me, Stewart and Cuban are Baby Boomers, and it is clear to them, like me, that most Baby Boomers not only cannot use AI effectively, but also don’t understand it well enough to protect us from its misuse.
Mark argued that Gen Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, will be the first generation to fully embrace the potential of AI and best be able to build effective guardrails around its use. The youngest in this group are currently 12 years old, while the oldest are 27 and just starting out in their careers.
Certainly, the next generation will have this ability, but they are still too young to influence the dangers of AI before they overwhelm us. Therefore, Gen Z should have the understanding, ability, and timing to ensure that AI helps humanity, not destroys it.
It’s not easy, so I wish them the best. It’s a bit depressing when he points out that our generation went “from sex, drugs and rock and roll to Fox News.” That’s not how I want to be remembered, but sadly, in some ways it is.
You can’t shut down the AI
Some tech leaders have urged a “pause” on AI development. I found this effort foolish, because if we have a technology that could globally redefine the world and the nature of work, let alone redefine weapons by making them more lethal, there is no force on earth powerful enough to stop its development.
Pausing AI development domestically would simply mean that if we don’t survive, the next war we engage in will be our last. As with nuclear weapons, we may get promises to halt development, but the reality is that development will continue underground and can never truly be stopped.
Cuban delivered his message by noting that it is important for the nation to develop AI proactively, but suggesting that instead of blocking it, we should work to ensure the responsible development and use of the technology — something the Baby Boomers can’t do.
We don’t know where AI is headed.
Cuban is right to point out that generative AI is still new, so it’s not clear where it’s headed. This uncertainty is especially dangerous with the advent of more powerful and cheaper to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI), which is why some form of oversight and proper safeguards are so important.
The good news is that the US currently has a monopoly on this technology that is vital for defense and business, which Cuban feels is a positive for now, and I agree, but it also has the potential to be very dangerous.
Stewart noted that the technology could harm the workforce, jobs and even businesses.
Cuban reiterated that the best people to put up these guardrails are those who have grown up with this technology and should have a better understanding of how to regulate the dangers without restricting innovation. If we get this wrong, we may face problems we cannot mitigate, or other countries may create problems we cannot address.
Cuban praised the chips and science bill as a great first step, but not a final measure, as it focuses primarily on ensuring the U.S. can maintain a critical mass of manufacturing in the event of a conflict. Still, it doesn’t address the guardrail issue. He suggested the current Congress lacks the capacity to take threats seriously and doesn’t understand how to take a balanced approach so that the solution isn’t worse than the problem.
summary
If you get a chance to watch the video of Stewart and Cuban’s conversation, note that it starts off with political remarks, and the discussion of AI begins about halfway through the interview.
This easy-to-understand explanation teaches us a bit about where AI is today and where it needs to go, and makes a compelling case for balancing the promise and risks of AI and managing it in a way that doesn’t slow innovation unless it creates unacceptable risks.
It also raises concerns about what would happen if a hostile foreign government developed the technology with the intent to do harm and lost control. What neither Stewart nor Cuban fully touched on was the concept of AI Shield and the importance of deploying it before foreign or illicit domestic entities create something that existing defensive technologies cannot protect against.
Jon Stewart and Mark Cuban have reinforced my belief that we are not yet ready for the coming wave of AI. It may be mostly beneficial at first, but we lack sufficient safeguards to keep it that way. I wish there was more good news.
Cost Plus Medicines
I don’t know about you, but I get angry every time I read an article about drug prices around the world. Much of drug development takes place in the United States, where we pay the highest prices for the results, even though our tax dollars are often used to subsidize the development of related drugs that are often beyond our reach.
People shouldn’t have to choose between their medicines, food and shelter. Some drugs are just too expensive. Cuban and his team at Cost Plus Drugs publish their pricing so you know what you paid for the drug, the markup (15%), the professional’s fees (usually a nominal price) and any additional costs behind the price.
Here’s an example from the Cost Plus Drugs website:
- Imatinib: Retail price $2,502.50 | $13.40 at Cost Plus Drugs
- Abiraterone acetate: Retail price $1,093.20 | $26.90 at Cost Plus Drugs
- Mesalamine: Retail price $766.80 | $28.70 at Cost Plus Drugs
Note that these are generic alternatives to Gleevec, Zytiga, and Canasa. Do you really need to pay thousands of dollars extra for the brand-name products? You can see a list of what Cost Plus Drugs offers here.
Excessive profits and high drug prices hurt people who can’t afford their medicines. Cost Plus Drugs can deliver medications at a fraction of the cost of most pharmacies, even Costco, one of the most affordable pharmacies. Eliminating waste and making important medications much more affordable will have a huge impact on the quality of life for people who can’t get insurance. Health insurance will be cheaper, and for companies that pay for health insurance, costs will be significantly reduced with no obvious downside.
Cost Plus Drugs will pressure other medical providers to reassess their prices or lose revenue, which will have a significant downward effect on overall drug prices. The company is also working on a project to fully “disclose” all medical prices, which could save patients hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical overbilling, for example, by allowing them to choose hospitals based on competitive cost comparisons.
Getting the cost of medicines down to affordable levels is important to our quality of life. Cost Plus Drugs makes that happen, so it’s our product of the week. Mark Cuban has become my new tech hero.
