Internet: Wave Three


Check this out. What you will see is an important interview with Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban. The transcript is a tad lengthy. Read it if you would like, but I will give you the important points in summary fashion.

First, Cuban describes the digital world as opening up in three waves. The first was connectivity, getting everybody online. AOL, 14400 dial up, etc.

Second, once everybody got online, the excitement resided in writing software and apps. Code that did one important task and did it well. Excel, Word, etc.

We are now in the midst of wave Three. AI will transcend individual software offerings and revolutionize how we conceive of areas like healthcare.

There is fallout from these various stages. As Cuban has demonstrated, for example, there is lots of money to be made by placing the right bets at the right time as all of this unfolds. While the right bets used to be in Silicon Valley and in the 128 corridor during waves One and Two, Cuban now believes that those areas are passé and overpriced. Wave Three is going to happen all across the U.S., because it will be driven by content rather than technology.

Additionally, there are important implications for the job market. Someone with a degree in computer science has lots of job opportunities in 2019, but Mark believes that these opportunities will dry up as computers learn to program themselves.

Finally, Cuban believes that Wave Three, AI, will genuinely revolutionize the way virtually every vertical works. To make this happen, single company breakthroughs will be replaced by partnerships of companies being woven together.

Bottom Line. In brief, Mark Cuban foresees a new world in which digital technology is not the endpoint, but rather the facilitator. I bet he’s right! 

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