What if Mark Cuban woke up tomorrow and was no longer a billionaire?

This was the question Alex Kennedy recently posed when Cuban was a guest on his podcast, HoopsHype . He asked Cuban to imagine he had an average-paying 9-to-5 job, but had all the same knowledge he has now. What would he do to put himself in a better financial position?

Cuban was quick with an answer. He'd design a new business around artificial intelligence.

Bartend to cover the bills. Cuban's first order of business would be to make sure he had enough income to make ends meet. He'd ditch the 9-to-5 and get a job as a bartender. This would be enough to live on and would free up his days so he could start a new business.

Become the go-to Alexa and Google Home guy. Cuban would start a business to set up people's voice assistants. He'd be like a cable guy, but for Alexa and Google Home devices. Cuban would install, configure, and configure all their devices so his customers wouldn't have to learn how to do it themselves.

"I could go out there and charge $25 to $50 an hour to do that," he says. "It's not hard to learn. It's really easy to stay up-to-date with that, but most people just don't do it."

Learn everything possible about artificial intelligence. That would be just a start. In the meantime, Cuban would begin learning everything he possibly could about artificial intelligence. Because AI is complex and technical, Cuban believes it's starting to create a world of haves and have nots.

"It's not just a hot area," he explains. "It's an important area and the impact is going to be enormous." While larger companies such as Google and Facebook have the resources and in-house staff who understand AI deeply, small businesses do not.

Help small businesses leverage AI. This is the second business Cuban would start if he were to start from scratch today. He'd help small businesses leverage AI to have the most impact.

Because most small business owners don't understand AI, can't afford to invest in it, or don't have time to learn, Cuban sees an opportunity to fill that gap. He believes companies that don't get plugged into artificial intelligence now will quickly get left behind by those that do. ​

Published on: Mar 7, 2020 The