Vitalik Buterin said he disagrees with the strong negative reaction to the anti-data-center movement, arguing that continued gains in algorithmic efficiency could allow AI capabilities requiring much larger data centers in two years to be achieved within roughly four years using existing infrastructure. He said slowing compute expansion could give society more time to address cybersecurity, biosecurity and other risks, while scientific progress is constrained by factors beyond AI, meaning a one-year slowdown in AI would not necessarily translate into an equal delay in research.
