What is "d/acc" proposed by Vitalik? How does it differ from "e/acc" effective altruism?

In Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin's new article "My techno-optimism," he discusses the benefits of technological development and concerns about AI. He introduces the concept of "d/acc" as a path for technological progress, contrasting it with the prevalent "e/acc" effective altruism in Silicon Valley. What is this concept?

"AI could leave nothing of civilization," Vitalik expresses concerns about AI in the article "Techno-optimism."

What is "e/acc" Effective Accelerationism?

It is said that "e/acc," which stands for Effective Accelerationism in Chinese and English, originated from the theory of British philosopher Nick Land, who once taught at the University of Warwick and is known as the father of the broader accelerationist movement.

In 2022, "e/acc" has beenwidely discussed and utilized by tech founders in Silicon Valley. Its basic philosophical idea is:

In the age of technology, the power of innovation and capitalism should be maximized to drive radical social change, even if it means completely disrupting the current social order.

What is "d/acc"?

Vitalik Buterin proposed the concept of "d/acc," which refers to balancing between the "benefits of technological progress" and the "urgent need for democratic and decentralized solutions to mitigate risks." Vitalik stated that the "d" here can represent defense, decentralization, democracy, and differential.

He attempted to illustrate the practice of "d/acc" from various aspects and cases:

Need for New Approaches

Vitalik expressed concerns about concentrating power in the hands of a few and advocated for a philosophy that promotes a more democratic world, avoiding centralization as the default solution to problems.

Preferencing Defensive World: DAO?

Vitalik believes the focus should be on technologies that lean towards defense rather than offense, contributing to more secure, open, and freedom-respecting governance forms. He highlighted the importance of creating decentralized governance mechanisms through stories like OpenAI's Sam Altman and the unique case of the Swiss democratic system.

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Macro-Physical Defense: Starlink?

Vitalik also emphasized the importance of robust physical infrastructure, such as long-distance international supply chains that can survive independently as critical defense technologies. Infrastructure like Starlink's internet network has been immensely helpful.

Micro-Physical Defense - Bio: DeSci?

Vitalik also highlighted the importance of open-source research. He mentioned the need to build a world resilient to airborne pandemics through medical research innovations, such as improving air filtration, early outbreak detection, and rapid vaccine development.

He emphasized the significance of open-source research: "If development is open-source, free to users, and protected as a public good, the work will progress more smoothly." Vitalik cited examples where CryptoRelief initially focused on addressing immediate crises and has been building a long-term medical research ecosystem in India, while Balvi has been dedicated to bold innovative projects to enhance our capabilities in detecting, preventing, and treating Covid and other airborne diseases.

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Network Defense, Blockchain, and Cryptography

Vitalik stressed the improvement of computer security, especially in cryptographic technology, such as the role of blockchain and zero-knowledge proofs in enhancing privacy and security.

He stated, "Blockchain allows us to create economic and social structures with a 'shared hard drive' without relying on centralized parties. Cryptocurrencies enable people to deposit and conduct financial transactions on the internet like they use cash in the internet age but without depending on trusted third parties, as these third parties may arbitrarily change their rules."

Information Defense: Twitter's Community Notes as an Example

This involves developing tools to address situations where attackers are hard to identify, such as misinformation and scams. Vitalik cited technologies like Twitter's "Community Notes" mechanism and prediction markets as examples of information defense tools.

Vitalik's insightful analysis of Twitter's fact-checking tool, even praised by Musk, What is Community Notes?

Social Technologies Beyond Defense

Vitalik also mentioned a form of "social technology" that achieves decentralized governance through more efficient discussion tools. He cited tools like pol.is and Viewpoints.xyz, used to achieve more decentralized governance, helping communities reach consensus on contentious decisions.

Summary: d/acc

In conclusion, the philosophy of d/acc integrates various technological and social innovations to create a world that is safer, more democratic, and better equipped to address the challenges brought about by rapid technological advancements.