Vitalik Buterin explains his SHIB donation story and says he no longer closely aligns with the Future of Life Institute strategy on AI risk and safety.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has explained the story behind his Shiba Inu donation. He also explained his current take on the Future of Life Institute. The statement that follows talks about his past support. He said his views changed after the group changed direction.
Buterin Reveals Details Behind Billion-Dollar SHIB Donation
Vitalik Buterin said he received a lot of SHIB tokens in 2021. The tokens were sent without his request. He said the creators wanted to use his name for marketing. The value later went above $1B at the height of the market.
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Buterin said he believed that the price increase would not last long. Therefore, he attempted to move the funds as quickly as possible. He explained that he accessed his cold wallet with long security codes. After selling some of the tokens, he started donating money to charities and research groups.
He said he sent around half of the remaining tokens to CryptoRelief. The fund later funded medical work in India. The other sizable portion was to the Future of Life Institute. At that time, the group had a plan to mitigate global risks in common.
According to Buterin, this plan addressed the topics of artificial intelligence, biology, and nuclear threats. The group also promoted peace research and discussion based on the truth. He explained that this broad vision was what persuaded him to give away the tokens. He expected the group to use but a small part.
However, the SHIB market remained strong for longer than anticipated. The institute managed to sell a much greater amount. Reports said the value was hundreds of millions of dollars. This outcome was surprising to Buterin since he believed the market would not be able to cope with such sales.
Change in Strategy Led to New Differences in Opinion
Buterin, later, noticed a change in the approach of the institute. He said the group began to concentrate more on political and cultural campaigns. The institute claimed that it was time for fast action as the growth of AI technology was fast. Buterin said this method was very different from what was originally planned.
He warned that there were risks inherent in large political campaigning with big money. According to him, a strong control idea can lead to a backlash. He also said strict limits of technology may not work in practice. He believes people can often circumvent software and other device restrictions.
Buterin said his approach is different. He does not favor just making rules, but safer technology instead. He is in favor of open research, excellent security hardware, and improved protection tools. He recently directed about $40M towards safety and security related projects.
With disagreements, Buterin said he continues to support some of the ideas of the institute. He praised the work it did recently on pro-human AI principles. He also said it is important to cooperate globally to ensure future safety. However, he went on to repeat that he’s not entirely with his views anymore.
