Vitalik: AI Is Becoming Capable of Hacking All Kinds of Systems

On October 6, 2026, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said at the OKX NOWevent in Singapore that AI is beginning to demonstrate powerful hacking capabilities, including escaping sandboxes, taking down websites, and discovering software vulnerabilities. At the same time, AI is helping Ethereum identify bugs and perform formal verification at both the protocol and application layers, improving asset security and data privacy. He argued that higher levels of security will become essential, as AI could discover any exploitable vulnerability in a system.