Exclusive: Vitalik Buterin’s take on the ‘AI versus humans’ debate

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin believes that artificial intelligence should not be seen as a competitor to humanity, but rather as a complementary tool that humans can harness to advance into the future.

At ETHPrague on May 28, Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin shared his thoughts on the age-old debate of whether artificial intelligence will one day dethrone human judgement. He believes that AI will be an inevitable part of the human evolution, but not necessarily as a competitor.

“I think we’re going into this interesting mode where it is not necessarily AI versus human, but AI plus human,” said Vitalik Buterin during his fireside chat with world wide web founder Tim Berners-Lee.

Buterin referenced key moments in computing history to illustrate his point, such as the 1996 chess tournament between IBM’s Deep Blue and Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov, where the machine ultimately triumphed.

“It’s an uphill battle for privacy,” Buterin said of the current state of AI and blockchain technology.

“We definitely do not want to delude ourselves into thinking that the default situation will go on forever […] the shift from applications being operating system applications to the browser application has been a very nice factor for sandboxing,” Buterin said.

Buterin also acknowledged that there are specific areas where AI excels compared to the average human. For example, he noted that AI systems are increasingly effective at summarizing human preferences, predicting behavior, and approximating outcomes based on vast amounts of data.

Looking ahead, Buterin suggested that AI will play a role in governance—both individual and collective decision-making processes are likely to integrate AI components over time.

Rather than trying to outcompete AI, Buterin said humanity should focus on using the technology wisely. However, he emphasized that no single model should dominate the space.

“I believe in the AI being the player in the game. Let AI be in the game, but it’s something that is absolutely worth approaching and using intelligently,” said Buterin.

Buterin also shared optimism about the evolution of digital privacy. One advancement he highlighted is the growing adoption of encrypted messaging technologies, particularly zero-knowledge proofs, which he noted are now becoming default rather than optional features in communication apps.

However, these improvements are also accompanied by new challenges that mankind must learn to overcome as they navigate the digital world.

The interplay between “technological developments and the legal norms and social norms are super important,” Buterin concluded.