CZ Responds to Vitalik on AI and Cryptographic Security: Teaming Up Could Make a Difference

Responding to Vitalik’s lengthy post warning that AI-accelerated mathematical research could jeopardize cryptographic security, CZ posted on X that he rates Vitalik’s math proficiency at 99.99 points and his own at 0.01 points, joking, "Put together, we might actually accomplish something." CZ also noted that while readers might find Vitalik's technical analysis as challenging to follow as he does, it is still worth diving into such an engaging discussion. Previously, Vitalik Buterin posted a warning that AI-accelerated mathematical research could significantly weaken the practical security of lattice-based cryptosystems within the next two years, affecting related technologies such as ML-DSA and fully homomorphic encryption (FHE), and potentially exposing ECDSA to cryptographic breakthroughs earlier than anticipated. He suggested that AI could accelerate mathematical research progress comparable to that of the past 50 years within just two years. Consequently, over the past year, the Ethereum Lean roadmap has been gradually shifting toward pure hash-based signature schemes to reduce dependence on lattice-based cryptography.