Cuban and Stewart on the future of artificial intelligence and ending excessive drug prices

Until now, I was not a fan of billionaire businessman Mark Cuban. I put him in the same category as many billionaires who care more about getting richer than anything else, including their families. But after what I saw last week, I couldn't have been more wrong about Mark Cuban.

Jon Stewart, who often does better interviews than most journalists, had Cuban as a guest on the Daily Show. Cuban mentioned that he is not chasing the next big power rush, but is instead focused on getting to know his children and grandchildren better. I wish more people in his wealth class would come to that determination, because it would not only benefit their families, but the entire world.

Cuban and Stewart started with policy but then moved on to AI. I follow AI very closely and what they said was absolutely right: we need to strike a balance between using this technology responsibly and making sure our enemies don't develop it better and endanger all of humanity.

Let's talk about AI and close with my product of the week: Mark Cuban's drug delivery company, which operates on the concept of “open and transparent,” an idea that has resonated widely in the tech industry but addresses the issue of people being charged unfairly for their medications.

Cuban's company, Cost Plus Drugs, is completely transparent and can profitably sell drugs for tens of dollars that other companies charge thousands for. For example, a drug that normally costs $30,000 a month sells for $64 at Cost Plus Drugs.

Generation Z and AI

Stewart and Cuban are part of the baby boomer generation, like me, and like me, they realize that most of that generation will not only not be able to use AI effectively, but will not understand it well enough to protect us from its misuse.

Mark argued that Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012, is likely to be the first generation to fully embrace the potential of AI and is best able to develop effective safeguards for its use. The youngest representative of this group is only 12 years old, while the oldest is 27 and just starting his career.

Granted, subsequent generations will have this ability as well, but they are still too young to make a difference 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 humanity, not destroys it.

I wish them luck because it's not going to be easy. It was a little depressing that he pointed out that our age group had moved on from “sex, drugs and rock & roll to Fox News,” which is not something I want to be remembered for, but unfortunately it's kind of true.

We can’t just turn off AI

Some technology leaders pushed hard to “pause” AI development. I thought these efforts were foolish because when you have a technology that has the potential to redefine the world and the nature of work worldwide, not to mention redefine weapons by making them more lethal, there is no power on earth strong enough to stop its development.

If you stop AI development domestically, it simply means that the next war you enter will be your last, as you would not survive it. Much like with nuclear weapons, you could be promised that development would stop, but in reality it would continue underground and you could never truly stop it.

Cuban got his message across succinctly, pointing out that it is critical for our country to aggressively develop AI. At the same time, he pointed out that efforts should not be directed at stopping this technology, but rather at ensuring its responsible development and use – and baby boomers are not capable of doing that.

We don’t know where AI is going

Cuban was also right when he noted that we don't have a clear idea of ​​where generative AI is going because it's still so new. This uncertainty is especially dangerous given the advent of artificial general intelligence (AGI), which could be far more powerful and cheaper to develop. That's why it's so important to have some sort of oversight and safeguards in place.

The good news is that the US currently dominates this technology, which is critical to defense and the economy. Cuban believes it is currently a positive, and I agree, but it can be extremely dangerous.

Stewart pointed out that this technology could harm workers, jobs and even businesses.

Cuban reiterated that the right people to set these guardrails are those who grew up with this technology and should better understand how to contain the dangers without limiting innovation. If this is done wrong, we may face a problem we cannot mitigate, or another country may develop a problem we cannot address.

Cuban praised the Chips and Science Act as a great first step, but not a definitive one, as it focuses primarily on ensuring the U.S. can maintain critical mass of production in the event of a conflict. But it still doesn't solve the guardrail problem. He suggested that the current Congress is unable to take the threat as seriously as it should be, or understand how to develop a balanced approach so that the solution isn't worse than the problem.

Packing

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

This easy-to-read commentary tells you where we are and where we need to go with AI. It weighs up the opportunities and risks of AI and makes a compelling case for how we should manage AI in a way that does not slow down innovation except where it could create unacceptable risks.

It also raises the question 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 importance of having it in place before a foreign or illicit domestic entity creates something that none of our existing defense technologies can protect against.

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

Cost-surcharge medications

I don't know about you, but every time I read a story about global drug prices, I get angry. Much of the development is happening in the US, where we also pay the highest prices for the results, even though our taxes often subsidise the development of the corresponding unaffordable drugs.

People shouldn't have to choose between medication, food or shelter. Some drugs simply cost a fortune. Cuban and his team at Cost Plus Drugs have disclosed their prices so you can see what they paid for the drug, the markup (15%), the expert fee (usually small) and any additional costs hidden behind the price.

Examples 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 for Gleevec, Zytiga and Canasa. Do you really need to spend thousands extra on a brand name product? You can find a list of offers from Cost Plus Drugs here.

Excessive profits and high drug costs are killing people who can't afford them. Cost Plus Drugs can provide drugs at a fraction of the cost of most pharmacies, even Costco, one of the cheapest. Eliminating this waste and providing essential drugs at far cheaper prices would greatly improve the quality of life for those who can't afford insurance. It would make health insurance cheaper and the companies that pay for health insurance would massively reduce their costs, with no discernible downside.

Cost Plus Drugs forces other providers to rethink their prices or accept a loss of revenue, which in turn has a significant downward impact on drug prices overall. The company is also working on a project to completely “open up” all healthcare pricing, so that you can, for example, choose your hospital based on a competitive cost comparison, which could save you hundreds of thousands of dollars in inflated healthcare costs.

Bringing drug costs down to affordable levels is critical to our quality of life. Since Cost Plus Drugs does this, it's my product of the week. Mark Cuban just became my new tech hero.