'We have lost control': Crypto pioneer warns AI could trigger systemic banking and infrastructure shocks
A crypto pioneer, Van der Chijs, warns that the rapid, uncontrolled development of AI could lead to systemic shocks in banking and critical infrastructure, echoing concerns from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. He fears that intense competition prevents necessary restraint, potentially exposing vulnerabilities in financial systems and drastically changing the job market.
Why it matters
This article highlights growing anxieties among tech leaders about the potential for AI to destabilize global financial systems and critical infrastructure, urging a reevaluation of the pace and governance of AI development.
“I’ve become more of a doomer over the past week, to be honest,” he told CoinDesk in an interview.
The concern marks a shift for an investor who compares AI’s potential today with bitcoin when he entered the market in 2013. He still expects the technology to transform the economy, but increasingly questions whether humans can retain control over its development.
“We have lost control, actually,” he said. “And until we get the control back, I’m actually worried that we’re moving too fast.”
Van der Chijs’s shift toward a "doomer" outlook mirrors warnings issued by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who urged tech leaders to slow the pace of frontier AI development . Amodei similarly cautioned that rapid progress—driven by AI models recursively improving themselves—risks exceeding human control and causing widespread infrastructure damage.
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