Vitalik Buterin Says AI Could Speed Ethereum’s Long-Term Roadmap

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said artificial intelligence could help accelerate the research and software work needed to advance the network’s long-term development goals.

Buterin made the comments during a discussion at the Network State Conference 2026. He said Ethereum’s development goals could be delayed until 2040 or 2050 without advances in AI.

His remarks focused on the capacity to research and build Ethereum’s Lean Roadmap. Buterin described AI-assisted research and coding as important to moving that work forward on a faster timeline.

The comments extend Buterin’s recent discussion of AI’s role in Ethereum. He has said AI could become a new way for users to interact with blockchain networks, while also creating risks involving software vulnerabilities, transaction instructions and access to sensitive information. Buterin previously discussed AI as a potential user interface for Ethereum.

Buterin has also linked AI to work involving complex cryptography and formal verification, a process used to mathematically check whether software behaves as intended. AI systems may help developers identify weaknesses and examine protocol or application code.

The latest comments do not set a binding deadline for a specific Ethereum upgrade. They present AI-assisted development as a potential way to help researchers and developers pursue the network’s broader technical objectives.

Ethereum’s roadmap remains a long-term development program, and Buterin’s comments connect its pace to advances in the tools used to research and implement protocol changes.