Mark Cuban: AI Is Stupid But Your Business Will Fail Without It

It's hard to deny that AI is a bit dimwitted at times, but businesses still need it to stay competitive in 2026.
Conor Cawley
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Published on January 9, 2026
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Mark Cuban isn’t mincing words when it comes to AI, with the widely-known business icon stating that the technology is “stupid,” but businesses that don’t embrace it are doomed to the ash heap of failed enterprises.

It’s hard to argue with either of Cubans points, honestly. AI is infamous for its many errors and hallucinations, but it seems to be the only thing driving the economy in 2026, so businesses clearly need to get on the train or get off the tracks.

Luckily, there are dozens, if not hundreds of helpful AI tools that can help businesses stay relevant in the modern era, and hopefully Mark Cuban doesn’t think they’re stupid too.

In a discussion with Adam Joseph, the founder of Clipbook, a content and workflow company that Cuban is invested in, the entrepreneur dove straight into the name calling in regard to the world’s current innovation infatuation.

“AI is stupid, but it’s somebody who’s a savant that remembers everything. It does a really good job of assembling all those things that it collected and presenting that just as somebody who has a great memory.” – Mark Cuban

Let’s be honest, he’s right. AI is still more defined by its shortcomings in 2026, with more and more stories surfacing of the technology getting it wrong in a serious way. From deleting entire company databases to thinking a clarinet is a gun, the technology simply is not as good as tech firms need it to be.

While Cuban doesn’t believe that AI is any more capable than a person with a really good memory, he also notes that its utility is far too valuable for businesses to pass up.

“There’s going to be two types of companies: those who are great at AI, and everybody else. And the ‘everybody else’ is going to fail because AI is such a transformative tool.” – Mark Cuban

Simply put, the stupidity of AI doesn’t make it any less valuable for businesses that know how to use it to improve productivity and streamline operations.

In 2026, there aren’t many business software options that aren’t equipped with AI. Salesforce has its AI agents to help you make sales, Gmail has its generative features that can write emails for you, and pretty much every platform under the sun is equipped with the technology.

Still, if you want to make a concerted effort to embrace AI, there are some more concrete steps you can take. For building apps, for example, vibe coding platforms have become incredibly popular, allowing users to create, customize, and even preview apps with natural language prompts.

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All in all, AI is still in its infancy, and it’s more important to be using AI in general than debating how to do so. Because in just a few years, this technology is going to be running the show.

Written By

Conor Cawley

Conor is the Lead Writer for Tech.co. For the last eight years, he’s covered everything from tech news and product reviews to digital marketing trends and business tech innovations. He’s a feature, reviews, and news contributor for Android Police, and he has hosted tech-focused events for SXSW, Tech in Motion, and General Assembly, to name a few. He also cannot pronounce the word “colloquially” correctly.

You can email Conor at conor@tech.co.

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