In a thought-provoking blog post, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressed his deep concerns about the uncontrolled development of super-advanced artificial intelligence (AI). On the other hand, Buterin shared various artificial intelligence projects that he benefited from. Here are the details…
Ethereum founder publishes artificial intelligence article
Buterin warns that if left unchecked, AI poses a “serious chance” of surpassing humans and becoming the next “advanced species” on the planet. Pointing out the uniqueness of AI as a potential threat, Buterin continued his statements. In particular, he pointed to the capacity to create a new kind of “mind” that could turn against human interests. It therefore highlights devastating consequences, including potentially human extinction.
New monster post: my own current perspective on the recent debates around techno-optimism, AI risks, and ways to avoid extreme centralization in the 21st century.https://t.co/6lN2fLBUUL pic.twitter.com/h5aIyFNCoh
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) November 27, 2023
Acknowledging that these claims are extreme, Buterin cites a survey conducted in August 2022 with the participation of over 4,270 machine learning researchers. Additionally, the survey estimated that there was a 5-10% chance that AI would pose a threat to humanity. Despite the severity of the potential risks, the Ethereum inventor suggests that humans can intervene to gain control over the development of AI and reduce its negative effects.
How is artificial intelligence control achieved?
In light of this, Buterin proposes the integration of brain-computer interfaces (BCI) as a solution to give humans greater control over powerful AI-based forms of computation and cognition. BCIs act as communication pathways between the brain’s electrical activity and external devices. It also reduces the communication cycle between humans and machines to milliseconds. According to Buterin, this will empower people with “meaningful agency” over artificial intelligence. It would also reduce the risk of acting against the values of humanity.
What projects does Buterin use?
Moving on to Buterin’s latest activities, he shared his views on the projects he actively uses, including the Farcaster project. Operating on the Ethereum and Optimism networks, Farcaster serves as a protocol for creating decentralized social networks. Buterin acknowledges the growing desire for alternatives to centralized platforms like Twitter. It also highlights the need for decentralized solutions. Shifting his focus to Ethereum’s ongoing developments, Buterin discusses the community’s transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake last year.
Emphasizing the importance of abstraction of accounts and scalability, Buterin talked about the upcoming EIP-4844 update. This update aims to increase the data space on the Blockchain by addressing scalability issues in the Ethereum ecosystem. In the long term, Buterin points to the Ethereum community’s commitment to advancing the technology. In particular, it envisages further expansion of the data area and improvements in the proof-of-stake algorithm. Beyond blockchain projects, Buterin says he uses ChatGPT for coding and translation. It also reveals its diverse toolset, using Stable Diffusion for rendering.
