Vitalik Buterin: I Am A Tech Philosopher


Vitalik Buterin described himself as a tech philosopher in a recent interview, emphasising the growing importance of cryptocurrency in the contemporary world.

Speaking to Stakeborg Talks on October 11, the Ethereum founder was questioned about whether he sees himself more as a tech mogul or a philosopher.

“I definitely don’t like putting myself into a box,” he said, before being asked again about being a philosopher or a tech person. “Can I say being a tech philosopher?”

What Is A Tech Philosopher?

When explaining his thought processes, Buterin expressed the difficulty in picking either technology or philosophy.

“I talk about math, I talk about economics, I talk about philosophy, what decentralisation and centralisation mean, and what kinds of decentralisation are useful.

“It feels like the things that we’re doing are just so fundamentally new.”

Buterin’s coining of the term ‘tech philosopher’ came after he explained his shifting approach to cryptocurrency thinking.

“My expertise is the strongest in these more theoretical ideas of if we don’t start from thinking about how very specific things in the world are wrong, and just start from ‘We have these tools, how do we make the best possible way to organise ourselves with these tools’. That’s the area I’ve thought about the most: thinking about how these different areas have worked and not worked in the crypto space,” he said.

“It’s where I feel like I have the best ability to say things that other people have not said yet.”

However, Buterin said crypto community can no longer stick to its own field.

“I do think it’s important for the crypto space to engage with the big real world,” he said. “Now cryptocurrency is bigger, it’s going to be a part of what the world looks like in the 21st Century. It’s possible that both myself, the Ethereum and the crypto community will start engaging with those issues over time.”

Aside from this, Buterin also spoke about the future of Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs), emphasising the need for more depth and decision-making power.

You can see the full interview with Vitalik Buterin here.

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[Image Credit(s): Steve Jennings via Flickr/Maxim Hopman via Unsplash]

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