Should we push AI forward as fast as possible, or be more careful about how it develops?

Two competing views are emerging:

e/acc (effective accelerationism): go faster, progress is the only path forward
d/acc (defensive / decentralized acceleration): accelerate, but carefully, or risk losing control

In this episode of the a16z crypto show, Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum founder) and Guillaume Verdon aka "Beff Jezos" (Extropic founder & CEO,) join Eddy Lazzarin (a16z crypto CTO) and Shaw Walters (Eliza Labs founder) for a deep debate about these two perspectives and what they mean for AI, crypto, and the future.

They discuss:

Whether acceleration is something we can control
The biggest risks of AI, from surveillance to concentration of power
Why open source and decentralization may shape who benefits
Whether slowing down AI is realistic or even desirable
How humans stay relevant in a world of increasingly powerful systems
What the next 10, 100, and 1,000 years might look like
At its core, this episode asks: Can acceleration be steered, or is that beyond our control?

Highlights:

00:00 Opening

07:02 Thermodynamics and first principles

16:04 Acceleration, entropy, and civilization

28:29 The core disagreement

32:42 Comparing and contrasting e/acc and d/acc

36:20 Open source, open hardware, and local intelligence

54:18 Should AI be slowed down?

1:02:35 Autonomous agents and artificial life

1:21:07 Crypto as the trust layer between humans and AI

1:35:37 Closing arguments

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Vitalik Buterin vs Beff Jezos: AI Acceleration Debate (E/acc vs D/acc)

a16z crypto show

Vitalik Buterin vs Beff Jezos: AI Acceleration Debate (E/acc vs D/acc)