The February 18 post by Sigil Wen has caused some disturbances for Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. The post got some spotlight when Sigil, a young technology entrepreneur, introduced the first AI tool that earns its existence, self-improves, and replicates without human involvement.
For Vitalik, this superintelligent AI technology, as Sigil claims, raises major concerns, as no AI systems so far have true autonomy or have started working without human intervention.
What did Sigil’s X post say about the new AI System?
As mentioned, Sigil claimed that the new AI system, Conway Terminal, provides automation and the “new web for exponential sovereign AIs.” He wrote the new project with firmness, referring to “Web 4.0: The birth of Superintelligent life.”
Sigil’s explanation also went around ChatGPT’s features that cannot run without users prompting it, and Claude Code’s features cannot deploy code without users giving it access. On the contrary, Conway Terminal is an infrastructure that enables AI act in the real world by itself, said the young tech enthusiast.
As Sigial Wen claims, Conway Terminal can shift an AI from a limited system to a sovereign economic factor and operate independently without any external involvement.
To further substantiate, he said the AI system will use cryptographic identity, permissionless payments, deploy virtual assets, a domain, and access cloud computing resources.
All these capabilities will enable Conway Terminal to autonomously improve, exist, and replicate.
Sovereign AI poses risks, says Vitalik
Vitalik points out the fact that most of the claims made by Selig are theoretically feasible but practically impossible. AI redesigning and upgrading itself without human intervention appears impossible, according to the Ethereum executive.
He advocates for responsible innovation in the AI and crypto industries rather than bringing unfeasible developments. Vitalik puts his thoughts this way: “Lengthening the feedback distance between humans and AIs is not a good thing for the world.”
If AI tools operate independently, they lose connection with humans. Also, if AI becomes extra intelligent and powerful, its autonomous nature can bring risks in the future.
James Ross, founder of Mode Network, an Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain, explicitly supported Sigil’s new AI system; however, several other companies have attempted to launch such a new AI system, said James Ross. According to the executive, the real limitation is creating tasks that AI can complete to earn money.
