Vitalik Buterin, the brains behind Ethereum, is sounding the alarm about privacy in the age of artificial intelligence. He argues that as AI gets better at data collection, the need for strong privacy measures becomes even more critical.
The AI Privacy Threat
Buterin points out that AI’s ability to scrape and analyze data is rapidly increasing. This, coupled with the growing amount of data we willingly share online, creates a significant privacy risk. He even looks ahead to future technologies like brain-computer interfaces, warning that AI could potentially access our thoughts.
Powerful Privacy Tools Exist
Buterin highlights that we now have more advanced privacy tools than ever before, such as zero-knowledge proofs, fully homomorphic encryption, and obfuscation technologies. These tools, he says, far surpass what was available to privacy advocates in the 1990s.
The Need for Balance
Buterin acknowledges that some limits on privacy are necessary, particularly for powerful corporations and individuals. However, he emphasizes that the greater danger lies in the erosion of privacy for ordinary people. He warns that the current trend, driven by profit-seeking businesses, is towards even less privacy, potentially extending to highly sensitive areas like our minds.
Protecting Privacy for Everyone
Buterin concludes that protecting everyone’s privacy is a crucial challenge. He advocates for making privacy-enhancing tools open-source, widely available, reliable, and secure. He sees a future where powerful entities have access to vast amounts of data about everyone, while the average person has little to no privacy, as a major risk. He believes that supporting privacy for everyone is paramount to avoid this imbalance.
