Ethereum Co-Founder Buterin Warns Devs of AI

Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, has offered his opinion on the growing trend of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology.

In a new blog post titled “The promise and challenges of crypto + AI applications,” Buterin outlined his top concerns about AI and advised developers to “tread carefully,” particularly when implementing cutting-edge apps in high-value and high-risk situations.

Vitalik Buterin Raises Concerns Over AI Risks in Development

The Ethereum co-founder explained that “it is important to be careful: if someone builds e.g. a prediction market or a stablecoin that uses an AI oracle, and it turns out that the oracle is attackable, that’s a huge amount of money that could disappear in an instant.”

The promise and challenges of crypto + AI applications:https://t.co/ds9mLnshLU

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 30, 2024

Buterin acknowledged that both AI and blockchain are of vital importance today. AI could play a role in helping users understand the intricate details of the cryptocurrency world, making sure that their actions are consistent with their objectives, and protecting them from potential fraud.

The developer explained that one of the areas where AI has the greatest potential is enabling it to take part in solutions like prediction markets at a macro-scale that would be impractical for humans. Buterin adds that AI could also be utilized in user interfaces for cryptocurrency wallets, guiding users through transactions and signatures and identifying fraudulent activity.

The Areas of Caution

Despite the positive side of the AI+ blockchain ties, Buterin believes there are some gray areas. For example, Buterin notes that using AI to enforce governance or oversee the administration of crypto networks would be the riskiest undertaking because open-source AI models would be subject to hostile attacks.

Source: Vitalik.eth

Buterin explains that open-source AI is prone to attacks as hackers can examine its code and craft effective attacks against it. On the other hand, Buterin claims that closed-source AI offers “security through obscurity.” However, according to him, this model lacks transparency.

The Ethereum developer said in his blog, “My own opinion is that pure AI interfaces are probably too risky at the moment as it increases the risk of other kinds of errors, but AI complementing a more conventional interface is getting very viable.”

Buterin concludes by warning developers to exercise caution at the intersection of AI and blockchain.

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