According to PANews, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently shared his concerns about OpenAI's current trajectory and the challenges facing the crypto industry. In an interview with Tencent News, Buterin criticized OpenAI for shifting from an open-source model to a more closed one, which he referred to as 'CloseAI.' He highlighted two main issues: sacrificing openness for safety and later compromising safety for profit. Following internal conflicts last year, it appears that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman emerged victorious. Recently, OpenAI announced its transition from a non-profit to a for-profit entity, reducing the board's power to an advisory level. This shift worries Buterin, reminding him of a quote from a founding father of the United States: sacrificing freedom for safety can result in losing both.
Buterin also addressed the crypto sector, noting that over the past five years, the industry's aspirations have often outpaced technological capabilities. He suggested that the potential for crypto to impact the world could lie in combining it with decentralized AI or developing a technology that could replace AI. However, he expressed concern that the recent AI boom might overshadow crypto, leading to a situation where only less innovative individuals remain in the field. This could result in repetitive financial applications, such as launching new tokens and exchanges, without meaningful innovation. Buterin emphasized the importance of creating applications that are both significant and engaging to a broad audience.
Despite these challenges, Buterin acknowledged the growing strength of the crypto industry this year, with an increasing number of developers interested in building impactful and widely appealing applications. He remains optimistic that if the crypto sector continues to thrive, it will attract more participants eager to contribute to its development.