Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin disagrees with the view that AI-powered hackers make cybersecurity unsolvable, arguing that mature AI tools can shift the advantage toward defenders. He proposes using AI to prove software security as a mathematical theorem, allowing developers to formally verify entire systems including databases, networks, and supply chains. Buterin keeps roughly 90% of his net worth in crypto as a bet that this asymmetric strategy will create more resilient software.

Ethereum is moving toward AI-assisted verification of full programs over the next few years to support scalability and privacy. The strategy focuses on validating defined security properties to create a smaller attack surface than scanning code for bugs. This approach moves away from verifying only self-declared critical code, which Buterin says often leaves other vulnerable layers, such as caching and networking, exposed to attack.