Mark Cuban Says These 5 Types of Jobs Are Most at Risk From AI
Mark Cuban Says These 5 Types of Jobs Are Most at Risk From AI
Chris Lewis, CEPFSun, August 9, 2026 at 11:42 AM UTC
396
Mark Cuban has made it clear that he believes AI is a good thing for the job market overall, even if it will impact some categories.
The billionaire investor doesn't see the technology as a negative, but he does think that it will change the nature of work. This is particularly true in a few job areas where AI automation will upend employment opportunities. Getting up to speed on these changes will give you a chance to lower your financial stress and make the pivot to a job that won't be negatively impacted by AI.
Here are the five job categories Mark Cuban thinks are most at risk from AI.
Make Money: 8 dumb ways to make money (almost anyone can do this)
1. Entry-level jobs with repetitive 'binary' tasks
AI and automation make it much faster for a worker to perform repetitive tasks such as data entry and spreadsheet work. So, that's why any early-stage career jobs in those areas will wind up getting replaced by computers.
"If all you're doing is reformatting or you're answering a question, yes or no, then there's a good chance you're going to be replaced by AI," Cuban said on the Big Technology Podcast. "But if you're a critical thinker, there's always going to be a need for you."
The thinking and reasoning behind the task still matters, but the old way for entry-level workers and new graduates to get their feet in the door will no longer exist. Instead, newer workers will be expected to use AI to hit the ground running and produce tangible business results.
Shopping for cheaper auto insurance? Enter your zip code here to get started.
2. Junior software developers and routine coders
Routine coding tasks are increasingly being offloaded to AI, so Cuban's argument is about what machines are still unable to do and what still requires a human touch.
"The one thing I will add on the plus side of the ledger for humans," Cuban wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "Humans have a far greater capacity to know the outcomes of their actions. Agents and LLMs as well, never do.
"Even an 18-month-old will learn what happens when they push the sippy cup off their high chair. Mom gets upset. Comes and has to clean up. They figure it out quickly. Agents can tell you the sippy cup will fall. But they have no idea of the context and what will happen next. Agents are still like college interns that come in hungover, make mistakes, and don't take responsibility for them."
That means newer developers will no longer be needed to perform the basic coding tasks they once did. Instead, a more senior-level worker will be able to complete more lines of code and automate much of the process. Anyone entering the software development field will be expected to be fluent in AI workflows and agentic coding to improve output.
3. Customer service and call center workers
The advancements in AI technology for customer service have been significant in recent years. Cuban has noticed this trend as well, and he believes that as the automation improves and handles customer requests, many of those roles will disappear.
Advertisement
"If you already have a business, the things that you've considered outsourcing, your customer center, your customer call centers, whatever it may be, AI agents are perfect for," Cuban said on the Big Technology Podcast. "So you can do that. The stuff you would give to an intern, AI agents are perfect for it."
Automating tasks that interns would normally do is just one of the many ways that AI is reshaping companies, particularly start-ups focused on rapid growth.
Make Money: 12 ways to pocket up to $300
4. Research and data analyst roles
With large-language models acting like a supercharged version of Google search, gathering large amounts of data and conducting research becomes much easier. Due to that, a lot of the old researcher and analyst roles are being drastically reshaped, and Cuban agrees.
"Knowledge is far different than information," Cuban wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "LLMs and agents can capture all the information it can touch, internally and externally to the company. But there are things that you, me, and everyone, security guards, salespeople, whoever, do to make the things we do fit the way we want them to."
There's still a need for an expert to compile all the data and research, but the work looks quite different from what it did just five years ago.
5. Finance and legal support jobs
Document review and compliance work are prime targets for automation, which means many companies will need a major overhaul of how they do business in these areas.
"[T]o truly leverage AI, companies will have to completely redesign their companies," Cuban wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "You can use agents to optimize current processes, and LLMs to improve productivity."
"But they won't help you against startups that are AI native trying to replace you. Disintermediation will be real, and those who default to software designed for non native AI companies will have a more difficult time competing with those that start with a built-to-disrupt approach."
As companies look to restructure and redesign around these new automated tools, much of the basic compliance and review work will now be handled by machines.
Bottom line
Every category on this list runs on the kind of routine, rules-based work an AI agent can grind through without skipping a beat, and the people who stick around will be the ones who learned the tools instead of racing them. While there are no mass layoffs yet, fewer seats are being created for entry-level work.
SignalFire, a VC firm that tracks tech job moves via LinkedIn data, found that new grads made up just 7% of Big Tech hires in its 2025 State of Tech Talent Report, down 25% from the year before and more than half of pre-pandemic levels.
That's Cuban's whole point, and why his advice is so urgent. Get fluent in AI now, and take those skills somewhere where you can make yourself productive and irreplaceable. Worst case, you'll still have enough skills to command a higher salary in the future so you can build real wealth.
More from FinanceBuzz:
Are you on track for retirement? Take this quiz and find out.
14 moves seniors could benefit from but often forget about.
Retire like the rich: 14 ways you could build wealth in your 50s.
Source: “AOL Money”
