The former Shark Tank star took to X to respond to a viral clip from the All-In podcast, in which investors Jason Calacanis and Chamath Palihapitiya revealed the real-world expense of deploying AI agents to enhance productivity: In some cases AI agents are costing more than $300 per day—adding up to over $100,000 annually. For Palihapitiya, founder of Social Capital, the price has forced him to rethink the budget he’s willing to give top developers, warning that otherwise, “I’ll run out of money.”
For Cuban, that reality is the “smartest counter” he has seen so far to predictions that AI will replace large numbers of workers—at least in the short term.
Even if the technology is capable, he said, companies still need to prove the economics make sense, and he’s not convinced the high price tag outweighs the value humans continue to bring.
“Humans have a far greater capacity to know the outcomes of their actions,” Cuban said. “Agents, and LLMs as well, never do.”
AI agents still don’t know what happens after the ‘sippy cup’ falls from the high chair, Cuban says
