- The pre-print paper: AI Agent Smart Contract Exploit Generation - https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.05558
- An associated research institution: UC Berkeley Center for Responsible, Decentralized Intelligence - https://rdi.berkeley.edu/
-- attributed to IRA after the Brighton hotel bombing narrowly missed Margaret Thatcher
Seems not that good of thing on the balance :)
This kind of misses the point though. In the real world engineers would use AI to audit/test the hell out of their contracts before they're even deployed. They could also probably deploy the contracts to testnet and try to actually exploit them running in the wild.
So, while this is all obviously a danger for existing contracts, it seems like it would still be a powerful tool for testing new contracts.
If automated exploitation changes that equation, and even low-probability of success is worth trying because pentesting is not bottlenecked by meatspace, it may incentivise writing secure code, in some cases.
Perversely enough, AIs may crank out orders of magnitude more insecure code at the same time.
I hope this means fuzzing as a service becomes absolutely necessary. I think automated exploitation is a good thing for improved security overall, cracked eggs and all.
No perversity there, in fact.
/Technology/ inevitably favors exploitation over defense.
AI agents, crypto, and viruses could all blend together to create really annoying things. For example an AI agent could infect your computer and then monitor your activity to see if you're doing anything suspicious, and then blackmail you.
Cue Ghost in the Shell in 3... 2... 1...
My prediction is that at some point in time there will be an actual living Shiba Inu with some code of Doge in its actual DNA.
I imagine those anti-bitcoin and anti-AI, missed the train and are digging in their heels.
Instead of adjusting to the new realities, they must stand with their prior convictions or admit they were not wise. I've seen this IRL. Some people make a great fanfare about the moment they switch to the new realities. Some people quietly adjust.
I think denial of all usecases makes people look foolish. I'm no absolutist visionary on both AI and Bitcoin, but I understand there are usecases.
Bonus question - not yet born people are also feeling missing out of tokens? :)
Side-note: Going back through my comments history here on HN, I feel like I've been engaging on this topic too much. I feel like a curmudgeon, even though I don't want to be. :-)
If I never hear about crypto again, it will be too soon. There were several stints throughout the 2010's where this website was unreadable due to everyone constantly shilling.
What, the coffee bars near you don't take it?? :)
To be fair, I'm sure there are shops that do directly accept it, but it's not this amazing life changing thing, unless you acquired a bunch in its halcyon days and forgot about it, only to then cash out afterwards, assuming you didn't forget your keys. ;-)
How about prime numbers - also a waste of time, right?
I feel this is whataboutism.
EDIT: I should note that I should have worded my statement to say that the Web is infinitely useful as a tool in addition to being here to stay. I don't necessarily see Bitcoin going away any time soon, if ever. However, its utility is much lower on the totem pole, if not non-existent, depending on who you are. To each their own though. Some folks like living life on the edge.
Prime numbers are the reason you can use the web securely over WiFi. It took 2,500 years for that to happen.
On your comment on how prime numbers helped with WiFi. I say "cool... but I don't have to directly think about it and everything around it just works since it's transparent to me."
Again, some folks might value this for their own reasons, and that is their business. It's not my right or interest to tell people how to spend their money. But the downsides and the externalities of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency make it not worth it for me. I don't want to be my own bank. I want people smarter than me to manage it on my behalf.
That's the current status of web3 security, unfortunately. The on-chain security arm-race is rather under-explored in academia.
aredox•7mo ago
Can't wait for millions of AI agents to prey in nanoseconds on any bug, mispecification, user error etc...
MisterTea•7mo ago
hidroto•7mo ago
sschueller•7mo ago