Cuban and Stewart on the Future of AI and Ending Abusive Drug Prices

Until now, I haven’t been a fan of billionaire businessperson Mark Cuban. I put him in the same group as many billionaires who prioritize getting even wealthier over everything, including their families. However, based on what I saw last week, I couldn’t have been more wrong about Mark Cuban.

Jon Stewart, who often does a better job of interviewing than most journalists, had Cuban as a guest on “The Daily Show.” One thing Cuban mentioned was that he wasn’t chasing the next big power trip but was focused instead on getting to know his kids and grandkids better. I wish more of the folks in his wealth class would come to this determination as it would benefit not only their families but the world.

While Cuban and Stewart started on politics, they moved on to AI. I follow AI closely, and what they said about it was dead-on correct: We need to achieve a balance between pursuing this technology responsibly and assuring that our foes will not better develop it and put the entire human race at risk.

Let’s talk about AI, then close with my Product of the Week: Mark Cuban’s medicine supply company that operates under the concept of “open and transparent,” an idea that has caught fire in tech but stands against people being charged unreasonable prices for their medicines.

Cuban’s firm, Cost Plus Drugs, is fully transparent and can sell drugs profitably for tens of dollars that other companies charge thousands for. An example given was a drug typically costing $30,000 per month that Cost Plus Drugs sells for $64.

Gen Z and AI

Like me, Stewart and Cuban are baby boomers. Also, like me, it is clear to them that most boomers will not only be unable to use AI effectively but also don’t understand it well enough to protect us from its misuse.

Mark argued that Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012, would likely be the first generation to fully accept AI for its potential and be best able to develop effective guardrails around its use. The youngest of that group is only 12 years old now, while the oldest is 27 and just starting their careers.

Granted, subsequent generations will also have this ability, but they are, as yet, too young to have an impact before the dangers of AI are likely to overwhelm us. So, Generation Z should have the understanding, ability, and timing to ensure that AI helps the human race and doesn’t destroy it.

I wish them the best of luck because this will be anything but easy. It was a tad depressing that he pointed out that our age group went from “sex, drugs, and rock & roll to Fox News,” which isn’t something I want to be remembered for, but that is, sadly, kind of accurate.

We Can’t Just Shut Down AI

There was a huge push by some tech leaders to “pause” AI development. I thought this effort was stupid because when you have a technology that has the potential to redefine the world and the nature of work globally, let alone redefine weapons by making them more deadly, there is no power on earth that would be strong enough to stop its development.

If you pause AI development domestically, it will simply mean the next war you enter will be your last, given that you wouldn’t survive it. Similar to nuclear weapons, you might get promises to stop development, but in reality, it would continue underground, and you’d never truly stop it.

Cuban was on message here, indicating it was critical for the nation that we aggressively develop AI, but also indicating that rather than stopping it, the effort should be on assuring the responsible development and use of the technology — something that, again, boomers aren’t up to doing.

We Don’t Know Where AI Is Going

Cuban was also correct in noting that we have no clear idea where generative AI is headed because it’s still so new. With the arrival of artificial general intelligence (AGI), which could be far more powerful and cheaper to develop, this uncertainty is particularly dangerous. That’s why it’s crucial to have some form of monitoring and appropriate safeguards in place.

The good news is that the U.S. dominates this technology for now, which is vital to defense and business. Cuban feels that it is a positive right now, which I agree with, but it can be extremely dangerous.

Stewart pointed out that this technology could damage labor pools, jobs, and even companies.

Cuban reiterated that the right folks to set up these guardrails are those who grew up with this technology and should better understand how to regulate the dangers while not limiting innovation. If this is done incorrectly, we may face a problem we can’t mitigate, or another country may develop one that we can’t counter.

Cuban praised the Chips and Science Act as a great first step but not a final step because it’s focused mainly on assuring the U.S. could maintain manufacturing critical mass should a conflict result. Still, it doesn’t yet address the guardrail problem. He implied that the current congress is under-skilled in taking the threat as seriously as it should be or understanding how to create a balanced approach so that the remedy isn’t worse than the problem.

Wrapping Up

If you get a chance to watch the video of Stewart’s conversation with Cuban, be aware it starts with some political opinion. The AI discussion begins about halfway through the interview.

From this easy-to-understand commentary, you’ll learn a bit about where we are with AI and where we need to be. It balances the promise with the risk of AI and makes a decent case that we should manage AI in a way that doesn’t slow innovation except where it might create unacceptable risks.

It also raises the specter of what might happen if a hostile foreign government develops this technology to do harm and loses control of it. One thing neither Stewart nor Cuban fully addressed was the concept of an AI Shield and the critical nature of having it in place before some foreign or illegal domestic entity creates something that none of our existing defensive technologies can defend against.

Jon Stewart and Mark Cuban reinforced my belief that we are far from ready for the coming AI wave. While it may be mostly beneficial at first, we lack sufficient safeguards to ensure it stays that way. I wish I had better news.

Cost Plus Drugs

I don’t know about you, but every time I read a story about the price of medicines worldwide, I get pissed. Much of the development occurs in the U.S., where we also pay the highest prices for the result, even though our taxes often subsidize the development of the related unaffordable drug.

People shouldn’t have to decide between medication, food, or shelter. The cost of some medicines is just nuts. Cuban and his team at Cost Plus Drugs made his pricing open so you can see what they paid for the drug, the markup (15%), the expert charge (generally nominal), and any additional costs behind the price.

Examples from the Cost Plus Drugs website include:

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

Be aware that these are generic alternatives for Gleevec, Zytiga, and Canasa. Do you really need to spend thousands extra for a brand? A list of what Cost Plus Drugs provides can be found here.

Excessive profits and high drug costs are killing people who can’t afford them. Cost Plus Drugs can deliver drugs at a fraction of the cost of most pharmacies, even Costco, which is one of the most affordable. Eliminating the waste and providing critical drugs at far more affordable prices would substantially impact the quality of life for those who can’t afford insurance. It would make health insurance less expensive, and for companies that pay for health coverage, it would cut their costs massively with no identifiable downside.

Cost Plus Drugs is forcing other providers to rethink their prices or lose revenue, which has a significant downward effect on overall drug pricing. They are also working on a project to fully “open” all health care pricing so you can, for instance, choose your hospital based on a competitive cost comparison that could save you hundreds of thousands of dollars in overcharged health costs.

Getting medicine costs down to affordable levels is critical to our quality of life. Since Cost Plus Drugs does that, it is my Product of the Week. Mark Cuban just became my new tech hero.