Author: Deep Tide TechFlow

Today, Vitalik's blog updated a long article titled "My Technological Optimism", which elaborates on his views regarding recent technological optimism, AI risks, and how to avoid centralization in today's world.

The perspective and focus of the article are quite high-level, and the content is lengthy; interested readers can directly check the translation.

Vitalik's blog is often interpreted as a barometer of technology, and the concepts within it occasionally spark a wave of speculation in the crypto community. In this article, Vitalik also mentioned an important concept that seems both unfamiliar and familiar: "d/ acc ".

d/acc, what exactly is this abbreviation that looks like code?

Before you can fully grasp it, a trend has already begun in the crypto community:

Many big names, such as Solana's co-founder Raj, have changed their name suffixes to d/acc, reminiscent of when Vitalik changed his Twitter name to "屯林," prompting many accounts to follow suit.

Subsequently, new meme coins named d/acc quickly appeared on both Ethereum and Solana, becoming the new targets for degens today. From a blog concept to a type of meme symbol to a kind of crypto asset, the speculation speed in the crypto circle is indeed rapid.

But beyond speculation, with a pragmatic attitude, we should clarify what exactly this d/ acc is that Vitalik mentioned.

Similar e/acc

The reason this d/acc seems both unfamiliar and familiar is that a similar term was quite popular 2-3 months ago — e/acc.

In the article "What is the New Thing 'e/acc' That Silicon Valley Big Shots Are Chasing?," we introduced that Marc Andreessen, the founder of A16Z, and Garry Tan, the CEO of YC, were the first to add "e/acc" to their social media account names. Soon, many people followed suit by adding these letters to their names.

The previous trend was related to the big discussions surrounding GPT and AI.

The so-called e/ acc ** translates to "Effective Accelerationism."** If it seems confusing, it can be simply understood as:

You should appreciate the tremendous benefits brought by technological progress and hope to accelerate this trend to bring these benefits faster.

A typical example is AI; when products like GPT allow everyone to taste the sweetness and marvel at technological progress, the e/acc viewpoint should be to continue strongly supporting the development of AI, making it smarter and serving more scenarios.

In the eyes of e/acc followers, any innovative idea that provides hypothetical value should not be dismissed, even if it seems too absurd, outrageous, or distant at the moment.

Therefore, using e/acc as an account suffix is essentially a "display of attitude" in the venture capital or tech circles.

What exactly is d/ acc?

Let's return to the d/acc mentioned by Vitalik.

Firstly, Vitalik certainly knows the true meaning of e/acc, and based on that, he has expanded the thought process: acc still means "acceleration," but the letter d can be assigned multiple meanings:

Defense, Decentralization, Democracy, and Differential.

With this combination of terms, you can extend it to the directions of accelerating defense, accelerating decentralization, accelerating democracy, and accelerating differential.

It does sound a bit abstract, but Vitalik himself narrowed down the thought process in the blog post, pointing these different directions toward the same concept — a worldview of "defense priority."

Vitalik believes that a defense-oriented world is a better world because it not only directly enhances security and reduces conflict but also allows healthy, open, and respectful forms of governance to thrive more easily.

So, what exactly do we need to defend against?

Vitalik elaborated on various macro and micro aspects of the world we live in, implying that defense is actually everywhere:

• Cyber Attacks: Enhance internet security and reduce the threat of hacking.

• Privacy Invasion: Reduce invasions of personal privacy and unnecessary international diplomatic strategies through enhanced cybersecurity.

• Information Warfare: Combat misinformation and online fraud, improving the authenticity and reliability of online information.

• Biosecurity and Public Health: Rapidly respond to disease outbreaks, such as the quick development and dissemination of vaccines, to reduce virus transmission.

And what means do we use for defense?

• Technological tools and applications: Develop personal defense tools, such as software to block cyber attackers and browser tools to identify scams.

• Data security and encryption technology: Utilize blockchain and cryptography to enhance data security and immutability.

• Smart contracts and decentralized applications: Use blockchain technology to provide transparent and secure network services and transactions.

• Rapid response and innovation: In biotechnology and healthcare, respond to health crises through the rapid development and deployment of new therapies and vaccines.

At this point, we have already touched upon the entirety of the d/acc concept: accelerating technological development in different fields to defend against potential attacks and risks in those fields.

Considering that Vitalik provided multiple interpretations for the letter d, such as Defense, Decentralization, and Differential, we can also see how the above means reflect these interpretations:

Defense

• Security and Protection: d/ACC emphasizes strengthening security and protective capabilities in technological advancement, particularly in cybersecurity, information security, and biosecurity.

• Countering External Threats: Defending against cyber attacks, information warfare, and public health threats through technological means reflects the emphasis on defense in d/ACC.

Decentralization

• Distributed Technology Applications: Utilize decentralized technologies like blockchain to enhance data security and improve system resilience, reducing reliance on a single centralized entity.

• Enhancing Personal Privacy and Autonomy: Decentralized technologies help protect personal privacy and enhance individual control over their data and online behavior.

Differential

• Promoting Technological Innovation and Diversity: By encouraging technological development in various fields, d/ACC promotes diversity in technological solutions to address various challenges.

• Differentiated Defense Strategies: Implement customized defense measures in different fields (e.g., cybersecurity, biotechnology).

Overall, Vitalik, through these defense measures and strategies in his article, showcases the practical application of the d/ACC concept, highlighting the importance of security, decentralization, and differentiation in technological development, thereby better forming the defensive world he mentioned.

Similarities and Differences Between e/acc and d/acc

Now we can quickly compare the conceptual similarities and differences between the previous e/acc and the d/acc mentioned by Vitalik:

In general, whether it is e/acc or d/acc, both emphasize the importance and impact of technological progress and consider the effects of technological development on social structure and operation.

However, the difference lies in the areas of technology they contemplate and the means of realization; Vitalik focuses more on improving the existing social, economic, and technological frameworks rather than encouraging complete disruption and progress like e/acc.

Finally, you may feel that these concepts have no connection to yourself or the crypto world.

But in reality, high-level discussions often gradually permeate various aspects of the industry in subtle ways; maintaining attention and understanding is not a bad thing.