Mark Cuban says, ‘If I were 16-21, I would spend every waking hour learning AI.’ Here is why it matters

If billionaire investor Mark Cuban were starting his career today, he knows exactly where he would be putting all his time and energy, not into risky side hustles or oddball business ideas, but into artificial intelligence.

In a resurfaced video from his talk at SXSW, Mark Cuban made it clear that for Gen Z and aspiring entrepreneurs, AI is not just the future – it is the foundation. “If I were 16, 18, 20, or 21 starting today, I would spend every waking minute learning about AI,” he told the crowd. “Even while I’m sleeping, I would have podcasts playing about AI.”