Vitalik: Open to Slowing or Pausing AI, Supports d/acc Platforms

Odaily Planet Daily reports that Vitalik expressed on the X platform that there is an incompatible worldview between AI 2040 and its critics regarding the pace and significance of AI advancements. AI 2040 believes that unless strong measures are taken to completely halt progress, some form of superintelligence will emerge by 2040; critics argue that AI 2040 underestimates human coordination capabilities and threatens freedom, but do not view ASI itself as a risk of power concentration. Vitalik stated that if he were convinced that the current form of AI is merely an ordinary technology, he would lean more towards the critics; if he were convinced that superintelligence would inevitably arrive by 2030, he would align more with the AI 2040 camp. He expressed that due to significant uncertainty, he remains open to the idea of slowing down or pausing AI development, while feeling uncomfortable with the stance taken by some large AI companies and intellectuals that "open source is detrimental, and the ideal outcome is for us to have global control." One of the key reasons Vitalik supports d/acc platforms is that areas such as formal verification, cryptography, secure and open hardware, pandemic resilience, defensive biotechnology, food and resource security, public cognitive systems, and non-concentration of power in physical security are worth advancing under both worldviews. He also mentioned that the 2040 plan has increasingly supported open source and incorporated the idea of "mutually assured destruction of computational power," which is an improvement compared to allowing a few participants to selectively deprive others of their rights. Vitalik stated that there are no evasion options regarding the question of whether to slow down or pause; trigger conditions can be preset, and when sufficient conditions are met within a specific timeframe, a more open attitude towards slowing down or pausing can be maintained. He added that if he were Elon Musk or Zuck, he would significantly transform Twitter into a platform that helps identify and facilitate such large win-win agreements, encouraging more people to participate in discussions, although he believes this might also be naive. Currently, he does not see any non-naive plans for transitioning to ASI, thus he tends to show some tolerance towards those who are attempting to address these issues.