Vitalik Buterin says AI is expanding beyond human capabilities

Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin has argued that artificial‑intelligence systems are rapidly surpassing humans across a growing range of tasks. He cautions that comparing AI to humans by a single metric such as intelligence or productivity is misleading, noting that both humans and AI possess diverse, sometimes overlapping skill sets.

Buterin points to a developing “AI class divide,” where those who master prompting, automation, and AI agents can multiply their output, while many users still treat AI as a simple chatbot. He likens today’s AI progress to the early machines of the 1500s—initially excelling in narrow functions but now expanding into broader domains.

The Ethereum founder suggests that if AI stalls before fully replacing human abilities, society will still undergo major change, with humans retaining a central role. Conversely, continued AI advancement could reshape how work is performed, shifting humans toward oversight and validation of AI‑generated results.