Vitalik: Rather than banning AI data centers, it is better to have the capability to reduce computing power by 99% in critical moments.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin expressed a different view regarding the AI data center pause order proposed by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders: Rather than simply banning the construction of large facilities, a global "pause button" mechanism should be established to quickly reduce computing power by 90-99% in critical moments, allowing humanity precious preparation time while promoting a more decentralized AI development. (Background: Vitalik responded to the "Prysm client" vulnerability incident: It’s okay if Ethereum is sometimes not final; just don’t finalize errors!) (Additional context: Vitalik: Predictive markets should adopt "decentralized oracles" + multi-resolution mechanisms to avoid malicious manipulation.) Independent U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders posted on the X platform today (17th), calling for a pause order on constructing data centers used to drive the development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI). He stated: "I will push for a pause order on constructing data centers that drive unregulated sprint development and deployment of AI. This pause order will give 'democracy' a chance to catch up and ensure that the benefits of technology serve all of us, not just the 1% of the rich." Sanders believes that the current development of AI lacks sufficient regulation, is mainly dominated by a few tech billionaires, and could lead to a significant loss of jobs, increased social inequality, and consume vast amounts of electricity and water resources. He emphasized that Congress should intervene in discussions to ensure democratic mechanisms keep pace with technological advancements, preventing benefits from being concentrated in the hands of a few elites. Currently, this call has received support from some environmental groups and reflects concerns in American society regarding the rapid expansion of AI data centers, including rising electricity costs and environmental burdens. Vitalik: A more effective approach is to establish a "pause mechanism" In response to Sanders' views, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin also commented on the relevant discussions on the X platform today, presenting pros and cons regarding Sanders' pause order. He first acknowledged that slowing down AI development has its benefits ("slowdown gud") and supports starting discussions to distinguish between "supersized clusters" and consumer-grade AI hardware, which helps promote more decentralized progress while focusing on regulating large facilities. However, Vitalik also pointed out opposing views: this pause order could be easily circumvented and may not achieve its intended goals. More importantly, he believes that rather than simply banning the construction of new data centers, a more valuable approach is to establish a "pause button" mechanism — to have the capability to quickly reduce global available computing power by 90-99% for 1-2 years at more critical moments in the future (such as when AI risk warnings appear). Vitalik's views again reflect his consistent advocacy for "defensive accelerationism" (d/acc): supporting technological advancement while emphasizing the need for safety 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 Related reports: What is Vitalik's intention behind pushing Kohaku and donating 256 ETH? Vitalik warns: Ethereum's gas limit will increase 5 times by 2026, but inefficient operations will be penalized 5 times! Vitalik signed (trustless declaration), how account abstraction rewrites private keys, security, and on-chain experience "Vitalik: Rather than banning AI data centers, it is better to have the capability to reduce computing power by 99% in critical moments." This article was first published on BlockTempo (the most influential blockchain news media).