Mark Cuban is sounding the alarm on the AI arms race, warning that intellectual property (IP) will be the key battleground. In a series of posts on X, he said companies are pouring over a trillion dollars into AI and won't settle for second place. “They will find a way to battle,” Cuban wrote, predicting an ugly fight for dominance. He emphasized that firms like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are not just building models—they're aggressively acquiring talent and locking down IP to stay ahead. Cuban advised creators to protect their work by encrypting and siloing valuable IP, or putting it behind a paywall to maintain control and value. He also lamented the end of the “publish or perish” era in academia, saying that once research is public, it's instantly absorbed by foundational models, losing its value. “Publish, and its value perishes,” he said. Cuban's warning underscores a critical shift in the AI landscape: owning and protecting data, code, and creative outputs is more important than ever. With tech giants racing to scale, investors are now watching AI-heavy stocks and ETFs as this trillion-dollar battle unfolds.