American billionaire and former Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban has shared a blunt message for the world’s leading AI companies: start spending billions directly on the people most affected by AI. In a post shared on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) Cuban said that firms like Microsoft, Google, OpenAI and Anthropic are losing the public relations battle and they need to invest in towns and cities facing job losses due to automation. Cuban warned that the AI companies are “getting a lot of hate” and must put people first. “Billions of dollars is a lot of money across towns and city programs. Across the major LLMs, it’s a cost of doing business,” he wrote. “One thing I have learned is being hated is not good for business.”He also criticised the companies for failing to support workers and creatives, saying that every artist he knows is terrified about AI’s impact on their profession. Cuban also argued that AI leaders to meet with artists in Los Angeles and New York face-to-face to provide financial and creative backing rather than paying celebrities for endorsements, which he called ‘dumb’.
Warning on public backlash
Cuban linked the issue to the massive infrastructure demands of AI, including data centers and power. “If you don’t kiss the asses of the people that go to work every day, and are just trying to pay their bills, you will fall far far short of the capacity you need to make your business work,” he cautioned.His comments come amid rising AI-linked job losses, with at least 16 U.S. companies — including Snap, Cisco, and Coinbase — announcing layoffs tied to AI redundancies this year. The backlash has even reached college graduation ceremonies, where speakers mentioning AI have been booed.
Read Mark Cuban’s complete post here
It’s time for everyone to realize that the fight against data centers has nothing to do with data centers. They have become a proxy for the hate towards AI and the concentration and accumulation of wealth it’s creating. Until those running the big LLMs understand this and start a community tour, not to explain the benefits of AI, it’s too late for that, but to help towns and cities that may be impacted by job losses (and I’m a believer their will be a net gains in a few years), this battle is only going to get more intense and let me tell you now , no matter how much money you pay to buy politicians and races, you will lose. One thing I have learned is being hated is not good for business. How can they help ? They will tell you. You will need to do what they ask. Billions of dollars is a lot of money across towns and city programs. Across the major LLMs, it’s a cost of doing business. At the same time, I would go to LA and NYC and ask the arts and creative unions what kind of programs would help and protect their artists. DO NOT GO TO THE MUSIC OR FILM COMPANIES. that will make it worse. Don’t try to pay famous people to endorse what you are doing. That’s dumb. Talk to artists and ask them what you can do to provide financial and creative support. Every creative I know is TERRIFIED about what AI will do to their profession. You must meet them face to face and basically do what they say. The big LLMs have lost the PR battle. Why ? Because they all suck at putting people first. They have an SV attitude that makes them all think they are John Galt saving the world Given the number of data centers and power that is needed, today and going forward , If you don’t kiss the asses of the people that go to work every day, and are just trying to pay their bills, you will fall far far short of the capacity you need to make your business work.
