Vitalik Hints at Putting Money Where His Mouth Is to Support Innovation

• Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has drawn attention with a new ENS domain registration.
• The domain registration hints at a potential funding effort for d/acc aligned projects.
• The d/acc philosophy tries to go against the grain of unchecked innovation without pivoting towards total restriction.

Amid significant computing advancements in recent years, technology has become increasingly intertwined with human life, impacting things like work, socialization, and sometimes even personal decision-making. As this technological reliance grows, however, so do concerns over its risks.

Among those that have drawn attention to these risks in recent times is Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin , who in November 2023 introduced a concept called d/acc . It’s short for defensive, decentralized or differential acceleration, and it calls for a more measured approach to innovation, particularly in AI. Fast forward to August 2024 and the Ethereum co-founder appears to be taking a step to encourage and champion efforts aligned with the d/acc concept.

Vitalik To Put His Money Where His Mouth Is?

A recent move by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has hinted at a potential funding effort for d/acc-aligned projects. On Sunday, August 18, Vitalik registered an Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain named dacc.eth. 

One reason for the domain name registration could be the creation of an avenue for Vitalik and like-minded individuals to support the funding of d/acc-aligned projects transparently. This is because ENS domains are linked to Ethereum wallet addresses. At the time of writing, however, the dacc.eth still holds the address of the Ethereum founder for now.

The ENS name registration comes as the Ethereum co-founder is set to discuss the d/acc concept in an X Space event on Thursday, August 22, alongside Vincent Weisser, founder of decentralized AI project Prime Intellect, and Skylar Weaver, Devcon Lead at the Ethereum Foundation. 

What You Need To Know About d/acc

Vitalik’s d/acc philosophy centers on accelerating the development of technologies that promise mass societal benefits while simultaneously taking a cautious approach to those that pose significant risks. The philosophy attempts to find a middle ground between unchecked innovation and a total clampdown.

The Ethereum co-founder has posited that this d/acc philosophy is particularly important in AI, a sector that has seen rapid advancements in recent years led by firms like OpenAI. Here, he calls for society to take active steps to avoid concentrating more power in the hands of a few corporations by championing decentralization, transparency and user empowerment. At the same time, he has kicked against the race to develop Superintelligent AI calling it “risky.”

On the Flipside 

• Degens have rushed to create unrelated memecoins with DACC as a ticker to capitalize on the recent interest sparked by Vitalik’s ENS registration.
• The Ethereum co-founder remains tightlipped about the purpose of the ENS domain.

Why This Matters

The rapid growth of AI technology over the past year has sparked both excitement and fear among observers as the technology promises to play a big part in human evolution in the near future.

Read this for more on Vitalik’s d/acc philosophy:
How Vitalik Thinks Decentralization Fits into an AI Future

See how MetaMask’s card unlocks crypto payments like never before:
How MetaMask Unlocks Crypto Payments for Users with Novel Debit Card