Vitalik on AI: Don't worry about being replaced, we will eventually adapt to the new wave of technology

Original Title: Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin: Crypto Community Never Really Respected Sam Bankman-Fried

Original Author: Ryan Ozawa, Decrypt

Translation: Yu YU, Odaily Planet Daily

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently appeared on a podcast interview with Sriram Krishnan and Aarthi Ramamurthy, discussing the crypto community's initial views on former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and his personal thoughts on artificial intelligence. Odaily Planet Daily has compiled the key points as follows:

Many in the industry were initially skeptical of SBF

Vitalik Buterin revealed in the program that despite SBF's high profile as an industry leader in mainstream media, the crypto community was skeptical of SBF and FTX from the very beginning.

Vitalik Buterin stated, "I think a lot of people have this misconception that everyone really respected Sam, and ultimately he surprised the entire ecosystem. I think no one really expected a project worth $8 billion to collapse, but if you look at Ethereum influencers like Anthony Sassano, many of them did not respect him and FTX from the start."

Vitalik went on to explain that many people in the crypto ecosystem were skeptical of SBF because he seemed unable to clearly articulate why cryptocurrency technology is valuable.

Vitalik recalled, "He couldn't clearly explain why cryptocurrency is good; he just clearly thought it was purely a business opportunity. It was something like, 'Oh, hey, cryptocurrency is something you can make money from.'"

Vitalik contrasted SBF's views with the cypherpunk values and decentralization goals that initially invigorated Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other blockchain projects, stating that the disgraced entrepreneur merely "repeated others' points that 'decentralization is good, creating a more open market is good'—these points have been said by influential people for many years."

Vitalik pointed out, "I think he never really made the community feel that he genuinely believed in this vision. This may be the main reason for the distrust."

AI can enhance human creativity, helping individual creators make films and other artworks

Vitalik also discussed the rapid development of AI systems like ChatGPT and expressed optimism about their potential, believing that AI can enhance human creativity rather than completely replace human jobs and talent.

Vitalik said, "I think one positive aspect of this is that it's a great example of how AI is not eliminating 30% of jobs; that would be catastrophic and frightening—but rather eliminating 30% of your workload, which is actually a time-saving trick."

He acknowledged that as AI approaches human capabilities, more jobs will disappear, but for now, AI is something people should embrace.

Vitalik believes, "In the first phase, which is the final step towards human-level AI, this aspect is interesting—it gives people more rather than replacing humans, at least so far."

He also mentioned powerful AI tools like image generators that can help individual creators make films and other artworks without the expensive Hollywood-style production.

"What we don't want to see is artists being replaced. I want to see a writer who can not only write novels but also direct films," Vitalik said. "I hope to see the cost of making a movie drop significantly from $100,000, where a person basically just needs to leverage their creativity and spend a few months using AI platforms."

In his view, disrupting Hollywood would be a good thing.

"We're getting rid of all these terrible hybrid remakes, like Marvel heroes battling King Kong, while also being a bit like 'Star Trek' vs. 'Star Wars,'" he said. "We can turn to real stories that reflect different people's values."

"This enhancement of existing individual creativity excites me," Vitalik said.

In fact, Vitalik positions AI as one of the most significant developments in history. "This transition from human to superhuman AI, I think this level of transformation has basically only happened three or four times in the history of the Earth."

But Vitalik also acknowledged that more research is needed and that some limited regulation may be implemented on advanced AI to address potential risks. He emphasized that any regulations should be targeted rather than imposing a blanket ban that would stifle innovation.

"I've seen these very compelling arguments from AI risk advocates. However, we have a long history spanning centuries where people predicted that the next wave of technological advancement would lead to various very frightening consequences. Yet, for centuries, we have adapted to developments time and again."