Vitalik: Instead of banning AI data centers, it is better to have the ability to cut 99% of computing power at critical moments

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin put forward a different view on the AI data center moratorium proposed by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders: Instead of simply banning new large-scale facilities, a global "pause button" mechanism should be established to quickly reduce 90-99% of computing power at critical moments, gain valuable preparation time for mankind, and at the same time promote the development of more decentralized AI.
(Preliminary summary: Vitalik responded to the "Prysm Client" vulnerability incident: It doesn't matter if Ethereum is occasionally not final! Just don't make mistakes final)
(Background supplement: Vitalik: Prediction markets should adopt "decentralized oracles" + multiple decision mechanisms to avoid malicious manipulation)

U.S. Senate Independent Senator Bernie Sanders spoke at X today (17th) The platform issued a document calling for a moratorium on data centers built to drive the development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI). "I will push for a moratorium on data centers built to drive unregulated sprints to develop and deploy AI," he said. "This moratorium will give democracy a chance to catch up and ensure that the benefits of technology serve us all, not just the rich 1%." ”

Sanders believes that the development of AI currently lacks adequate supervision and is mainly dominated by a small number of technology tycoons, which may lead to the loss of a large number of job opportunities, exacerbate social inequality, and consume huge amounts of electricity and water resources. He stressed that Congress should intervene in discussions to allow democratic institutions to keep pace with technology and prevent benefits from being concentrated in the hands of only a few elites. At present, this call has gained support from some environmental groups and reflects the concerns of American society about the rapid expansion of AI data centers, including rising electricity bills and environmental burdens.

Vitalik: A more effective approach is to establish a "pause mechanism"

In response to Sanders's views, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin also responded to relevant discussions on the X platform today, putting forward pros and cons for Sanders' suspension order. He first admitted that slowing down the pace of AI development has its benefits ("slowdown gud"), and supported opening a discussion to distinguish between "supersized clusters" and general consumer-grade AI hardware, which would help promote more decentralized progress while focusing on regulating large facilities.

However, Vitalik also pointed out the objection that such a moratorium could be easily circumvented and would not actually achieve its goals. More importantly, he believes that rather than simply banning new data centers, a more valuable approach is to establish a "pause button" mechanism - one that has the ability to quickly reduce 90-99% of the world's available computing power for 1-2 years at more critical moments in the future (such as when an AI risk warning occurs), giving humanity time to prepare.

Vitalik’s views once again reflect his consistent stance of “defensive accelerationism” (d/acc): supporting technological progress but emphasizing the need to build safety protection measures.

argument for: slowdown gud

argument against: the more useful thing is "pause button" – building toward having the capability to cut available compute by 90-99% for 1-2 years at a future more critical moment

argument for: opening the discussion on distinguishing between…

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 17, 2025