Billionaire Mark Cuban says that ‘companies don’t understand’ how to implement AI right now—and that’s an opportunity for Gen Z coming out of school

Success·Gen ZBillionaire Mark Cuban says that ‘companies don’t understand’ how to implement AI right now—and that’s an opportunity for Gen Z coming out of schoolBy Preston ForeBy Preston ForeStaff Writer, EducationPreston ForeStaff Writer, EducationPreston Fore is a reporter at Fortune, covering education and personal finance for the Success team.SEE FULL BIO Forget AI taking jobs, Gen Z’s biggest opportunity is teaching people how to use the nology, the former Shark Tank star says.Travis P

Ball/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty ImagesDespite fears AI taking jobs, Mark Cuban reveals opportunities are only growing for Gen Zers who embrace the nology

The future of work can feel demoralizing for Gen Z as recent college graduates continue to struggle to find jobs, in part thanks to companies thinking they can outsource new talent to AI

That’s where Gen Z can come in, according to Mark Cuban. “Learn all you can AI, but learn more on how to implement them in companies,” the billionaire told TBPN last week, while adding that leaders don’t actually understand how to implement all of these new tools yet. “Learn to customize a model, walk into a company, show the benefits

That is every single job that’s going to be available for kids coming out of school.” The 67-year-old emphasized that Gen Zers in their senior year of college—or high school even—should be spending any “excess time” they have learning the difference between AI-powered generators, such as OpenAI’s Sora and Google’s Veo, and how to customize AI models

This is where kids get hired,” Cuban said

Fortune reached out to Cuban for

Embrace AI—or get left behind The former Shark Tank star has long been an embracer of AI

Earlier this year, he said if he was a young person today, he’d spend every waking moment learning AI—and would even listen to while sleeping to get ahead

And while he hasn’t gone as far as other leaders to predict AI will help colonize the galaxy in just five years time, Cuban does believe it will soon become a baseline skill on par with or Excel. “If you’re not using [AI] to move faster or make smarter decisions, you’re behind,” he told Fortune earlier this year. “[AI isn’t] just a tool, it’s leverage

If you’re not using AI to move quicker and make smarter decisions, you’re at a disadvantage,” Cuban added. “The most successful entrepreneur will understand how to perly use AI.” CEOs want employees who are committed to AI implementation While Cuban remains one of the most vocal the opportunities that can come from AI, other leaders agree it presents one of the unique competitive advantages of today’s time

Even though Apple has been slower than fellow giants Meta, Google, and Microsoft to create their own AI ducts, its CEO Tim Cook encouraged his employees earlier this month to deploy AI tools faster. “All of us are using AI in a significant way already, and we must use it as a company as well,” Cook said, according to Bloomberg reporting. “To not do so would be to be left behind, and we can’t do that.” And while fears AI replacing jobs remain a concern among workers, it’s least ly to occur to those who choose to dive headfirst into using AI everyday, according to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. “Every job will be affected, and immediately

It is unquestionable,” Huang said at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference earlier this year. “You’re not going to lose your job to an AI, but you’re going to lose your job to someone who uses AI.” Introducing the 2025 Fortune Global 500, the definitive ranking of the biggest companies in the world

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