Vitalik: Account abstraction can protect our crypto assets, and zero-knowledge proof can be used for privacy protection

Vitalik Buterin posted on the X platform that artificial intelligence is fundamentally different from other technologies and deserves special care. In Ethereum, we intentionally try to ensure that many parts of the stack are decentralized: ensuring that no single codebase controls more than half of the proof-of-stake network, trying to resist the dominance of large stake pools, improving geographic dispersion, etc. Basically, Ethereum is actually trying to realize the age-old libertarian dream of a market-based society. To a certain extent, this worked: Prysm client dominance dropped from over 70% to under 45%. But this is not an automatic market process, but the result of human will and coordinated action. Blockchain allows us to create economic and social structures with shared hard drives without relying on centralized actors. Cryptocurrencies enable individuals to store funds and conduct financial transactions much like cash was used before the advent of the internet, without having to rely on a trusted third party who can change the rules at will. They can also serve as backup anti-forgery mechanisms, making attacks and spam costly for users who do not or do not want to reveal their true identities. Account abstraction, especially social recovery wallets, can protect our crypto assets, and potentially other types of assets in the future, without overreliance on centralized intermediaries. Zero-knowledge proofs can be used for privacy protection, allowing users to prove things about themselves without revealing private information. For example, encapsulate a digital passport signature in a ZK-SNARK to prove that you are a unique citizen of a certain country without having to reveal which citizen you are. Technology like this allows us to maintain the benefits of privacy and anonymity while still gaining security guarantees and fighting spam and bad actors.