Ethereum Co-Founder Warns of AI Centralization Risk: Tech Giants Could Dominate the 'Machine Economy'

BlockBeats News, April 18. Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin said in an interview with CoinDesk that AI and cryptographic technologies are merging at an accelerated pace, potentially marking the next major industry inflection point. However, Lubin warned that if AI infrastructure is controlled by a few large tech companies, it could pose systemic risks to the industry.

Lubin pointed out that the future economy will be driven by "machine processes," where autonomous or semi-autonomous AI agents can conduct transactions, collaborations, and validations on blockchain networks, with the cryptographic network serving as the underlying settlement layer. He believes that blockchain and cryptographic mechanisms are crucial for establishing a trusted environment for "machine supervising machine" to avoid the power imbalance issues caused by centralized AI.

On the product front, Lubin revealed that MetaMask is evolving towards a "user-self custody digital bank," which will integrate AI agents in the future to autonomously manage user assets and execute transactions, forming a "personal financial operating system."

From an ecosystem perspective, he believes that enterprises will increasingly adopt "enterprise chains" to meet performance and control needs. However, Lubin emphasized that asset issuance should still prioritize the Ethereum mainnet to ensure long-term security and trust.

Regarding stablecoins and asset tokenization, Lubin noted that the current model still relies on centralized issuers. He anticipates a gradual transition to a more decentralized collateral system in the future to achieve a more native cryptographic financial structure.

Furthermore, he maintains a cautious yet optimistic stance on quantum computing risks, viewing it as a long-term challenge that has been incorporated into the Ethereum technology evolution roadmap.