Mark Cuban Warns AI Data Centers May Go Obsolete, Substack Detects AI, Publishers Fight Google AI

On Hashtag Trending for Thursday, July 23, 2026, host Jim Love covers billionaire Mark Cuban's warning that today's massive AI data centers could become obsolete as AI chips and models rapidly improve. He also examines a Nikkei analysis estimating that Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle have committed about US$1.65 trillion in long-term AI infrastructure contracts that don't appear as debt on their balance sheets but remain legally binding obligations. The episode also looks at Substack's new AI detection tools, developed with Pangram, which estimate how much text was written by humans versus AI. Readers gain more transparency, while writers can disclose how they use AI, scan drafts before publishing, appeal inaccurate results, or disable AI detection. Finally, Jim reports on growing tensions between publishers and AI search as companies including Reddit, Reuters, Politico, The Economist, and Gannett consider blocking Google's AI-generated search summaries following steep declines in referral traffic. He also covers a report from 404 Media about a town that covered controversial Flock Safety license-plate reader cameras with black garbage bags because contract terms prevented removing them. Timestamps 00:00 Headlines And Intro 00:27 Mark Cuban AI Bubble Warning 02:11 Substack AI Detection Tool 05:06 Publishers Versus Google AI Search 06:55 License Plate Cameras Covered Up