Vitalik proposes "digital minimalism": leveraging AI to reduce reliance on social media and the internet.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin today published an article titled "Digital Minimalism," proposing that in the AI era, people should consciously reduce their reliance on social media, mobile internet, and website interfaces to regain control over their digital lives. Buterin shared three practices: First, he reduced direct use of X, instead using Firefly to manage X, Bluesky, Farcaster, and Lens simultaneously to avoid information interference from algorithmic recommendations; Second, he kept his phone in airplane mode by default for 100 consecutive days, only connecting via Wi-Fi, to reduce location data leaks and cultivate offline living habits; Third, he reduced reliance on websites and web applications, switched to command-line tools to handle some on-chain operations, and leveraged AI to lower usage barriers. Buterin believes that websites and web applications carry privacy and security risks, while the development of local AI, offline applications, and modular tools allows users to operate computers via natural language, reducing dependence on complex platform interfaces. He refers to this trend as digital minimalism, arguing that AI can not only improve people's efficiency in using the internet but may also make the internet unnecessary in more scenarios.