American billionaire Mark Cuban recently fired back at Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), arguing that governments should treat artificial intelligence as a public investment aimed at cutting operating costs and improving services. Cuban said AI could help states and Washington run leaner, redirecting more collected revenue to people who need support. He posed a direct challenge to Khanna’s constituents: “Ask your Gen Z and neediest constituents, if AI could reduce spending in your state and improve the quality of services offered, with some percent of those savings being deposited in their bank accounts annually, would they approve of the government using AI?”
AI as Public Investment
Cuban also acknowledged that rolling out AI in government is difficult, but said that he wants programs that hire or train recent graduates to work alongside exiting staff on efficiency projects. He described spending on AI as an “investment” designed to pay for itself through reduced costs and better delivery. “Ideology is not a strategy,” he added, warning against both deregulation dogma and tax-heavy proposals without execution details.
Pushback on Wealth Tax Proposals
Cuban also argued that even extreme confiscation of billionaire and trillionaire wealth would not cover a single year of subsidies in areas like housing, childcare, and healthcare. He pointed to Medicare for All as an example, saying bill language leaves key decisions “at the discretion of the Sec of HHS,” underscoring his view that slogans and politics cannot replace detailed execution.
Read Mark Cuban’s complete post here: “Ro, you just gave a nice little stump speech. Congrats. I'm talking about how AI can be used to make government more efficient, less expensive and provide an option, where it makes sense, to private enterprise. Enabling more of the revenue you collect from taxpayers to go directly to the people who need it. Ask your GenZ and neediest constituents, if AI could reduce spending in your state and improve the quality of services offered, with some percent of those savings being deposited in their bank accounts annually, would they approve of the government using AI? You know the answer. By focusing on technology that can allow government to provide better services at a lower cost, which AI will be in a position to enable, only then can you help provide for people who need help and support. AI is new, and not easy to implement. Which is why your state and the federal government should be creating programs to give new grads, who know or can learn AI, jobs to work with existing staff to find ways to decrease costs and improve efficiency. It's an investment that will pay off. And as far as all the things you want to subsidize, from homes to childcare to healthcare, you could take every dollar from every billionaire and trillionaire in your state and probably every state and territory, leave them broke and then eat them, and it wouldn't cover for a year, the cost of what you want to do. But since I know healthcare, let's start there and see how serious you are about Medicare for All? Who runs it and how do you choose that person? Right now the proposed legislation from Jayapal and Sanders says, 'at the discretion of the Sec of HHS.' What do you think would be happening right now if that had been passed? I'll tell you the same thing I tell Republicans who think removing government and regulation from any market will make that market bigger and more efficient... Ideology is not a strategy.”
Debate Intensifies After SpaceX IPO
The exchange comes as SpaceX’s blockbuster IPO boosted Elon Musk’s wealth past $1 trillion, reigniting political fights over whether taxing fortunes is the best way to fund public priorities. Cuban framed AI as a practical alternative, suggesting that efficiency gains could directly benefit citizens without relying solely on wealth taxes.
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