Vitalik proposed "Digital Minimalism": reducing reliance on social media and the internet with the help of AI

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin today published an article titled "Digital Minimalism," suggesting that in the age of AI, people should consciously reduce their reliance on social media, mobile internet, and website interfaces, regaining control over their digital lives.

Vitalik shared three practices: first, reducing direct use of X and instead managing X, Bluesky, Farcaster, and Lens simultaneously through Firefly to avoid information interference caused by algorithmic recommendations; second, he kept his phone in airplane mode by default for 100 consecutive days, connecting only via Wi-Fi to reduce location data leakage and cultivate offline living habits; third, he reduced reliance on websites and web applications, opting for command-line tools to handle some on-chain operations and leveraging AI to lower the usage threshold.

Vitalik believes that websites and web applications pose privacy and security risks, while the development of local AI, offline applications, and modular tools enables users to operate computers using natural language, reducing dependence on complex platform interfaces. He refers to this trend as digital minimalism and believes that AI can not only enhance people's efficiency in using the internet but may also allow people to no longer need the internet in more scenarios.