According to Foresight News , Vitalik Buterin clarified his relationship with the Future of Life Institute (FLI) and their differing stances on AI risks on Twitter. In 2021, he received a large amount of Dogecoins such as SHIB (reaching a peak of over $1 billion). After selling some and donating to GiveWell, he donated half (approximately $500 million) to FLI and the other half to CryptoRelief (partially for improving India's healthcare infrastructure). At the time, FLI's roadmap included initiatives to improve biotechnology, nuclear energy, AI, and other areas posing risks, as well as peace and awareness.
Later, FLI shifted its focus to cultural and political action (influencing policy with large sums of money), a path Vitalik worried could lead to unintended consequences, backlash, and authoritarian vulnerabilities, potentially backfiring. He favored d/acc: building technologies (such as air filtration, early detection, continuous passive PCR quality air monitoring, and epidemic prevention measures), significantly improving the verifiability of cybersecurity software and hardware, and open-sourcing for free global adoption. While he has expressed his disagreement on several occasions, he wished FLI to proceed cautiously with its positive initiatives.
