Artificial intelligence (AI) has spent the past few years coming for everyone’s job. Now, Mark Cuban is drawing a line around one profession — and investors may want to pay attention.
Billionaire investor and entrepreneur Mark Cuban said there is “no chance” radiologists will be replaced by AI, arguing that the technology will instead become another tool doctors use to do their jobs. He made the comments on X on Aug. 19, during a broader discussion about AI’s impact on medicine.
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“No chance radiologists get replaced,” Cuban wrote. “A model is outdated the minute it is released. Model usage costs money. A lot more than a radiologist. Medicine is a business. Putting together AI with domain knowledge is complex. When it can be the difference between life and death, who do you want building it and using it?”
Cuban then made his prediction even clearer.
“AI won’t replace radiologists. But every radiologist will use AI,” he wrote.
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The argument comes as AI is already moving deeper into medical imaging. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared a growing number of AI-enabled radiology devices, including tools designed to analyze medical images and help clinicians identify potential problems. A 2026 study found that 1,080 of 1,394 FDA-listed AI/ML device submissions were related to radiology, or roughly 78%.
That could put the companies building AI-powered medical imaging tools in an increasingly valuable position.
Large medical technology companies, including GE HealthCare, Siemens Healthineers, and Philips, are building AI into imaging systems and clinical workflows. GE HealthCare led the field with 130 radiology AI authorizations as of the first quarter, followed by Siemens Healthineers with 95 and Philips with 58, according to The Imaging Wire.
AI-native companies are also chasing the market. Aidoc, a clinical AI company focused heavily on medical imaging, raised $150 million in April in a funding round led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives that included participation from Nvidia's (NVDA) venture arm.
Cuban’s broader point is that AI may have a better shot at replacing the paperwork surrounding medicine than replacing the doctors themselves.
He argued that AI could take over many of the administrative tasks doctors handle, calling much of the work “bullshit administrivia” created by large health care companies. His proposed solution was to replace unnecessary middlemen with AI, freeing doctors to spend more time with patients.
That distinction matters for the investment case. The AI opportunity in health care may not require a machine to replace a radiologist. It may be enough for AI to make that radiologist faster, help flag abnormalities, and fit more efficiently into a hospital’s workflow.
Cuban’s prediction is essentially a bet on augmentation rather than extinction. Radiologists may not be AI-proof because AI can’t read an image. They could be AI-resistant because someone still has to combine the image, patient history, clinical context, and consequences of a diagnosis when the stakes are life and death.
For investors, that could make the more interesting question not which jobs AI will eliminate, but which industries will spend heavily to make their workers better with it.
On the date of publication, Caleb Naysmith did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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