Vitalik Buterin: Open to "anti-data center populism," which may help delay the progress of AGI

Odaily Planet Daily reports that Vitalik Buterin posted on X platform expressing a relatively open attitude toward the so-called “anti-data-center populism.” He believes that under the current technological path, restricting industrial-grade hardware computing power supply may be one of the most pragmatic and least dystopian ways to delay the schedule of artificial general intelligence (AGI). From discussions with related researchers, reducing the availability of large-scale computing infrastructure might help extend the development cycle of AGI. If the social forces driving this process initially stem from opposition to data center expansion, “that might not be unacceptable either.”

However, he also emphasizes that taking action only against data centers located in densely populated areas is not enough to substantially change the AGI timeline. He estimates that, under a “static world model,” achieving a 10 to 100-fold reduction in computing power is feasible; compared to scenarios with continued advancements in future chip design, the reduction could even reach 100 to 10,000 times, and such scale “would truly make an impact.” Although the path is complex, any major adjustment requires a “first step.”