On March 13, PANews reported that Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin clarified his position on his donation of a large sum of money to the Future of Life Institute (FLI) years ago, and explained the similarities and differences between the two parties on the issue of AI risks. Vitalik stated that in 2021 he received a large amount of tokens such as SHIB, with a peak value exceeding $1 billion. He quickly converted some into ETH and donated it to relatively "normal" institutions, while donating the remaining half of the SHIB to FLI. At that time, FLI proposed a comprehensive roadmap covering risks in areas such as biology, nuclear energy, and AI, as well as promoting peace and cognition. FLI ultimately disbursed approximately $500 million, but subsequently shifted its internal strategy, prioritizing cultural and political action.

Vitalik expressed concern about large-scale coordinated political action, believing it could have unintended consequences, leading to coercive and fragile solutions. He pointed out that regulations targeting dangerous technologies often grant exemptions to national security agencies, which are themselves a major source of risk. Vitalik advocates for a d/acc path—developing open-source technologies to help humanity survive safely—and has recently allocated approximately $40 million in this direction. He also affirmed that FLI's recent "Manifesto in Support of Human AI" and other initiatives represent a positive philosophical approach.