Vitalik Buterin Funded AI Research Grant with Last Year’s Shiba Inu Donation

Back in 2021, Vitalik Buterin received trillions of SHIB tokens, and even though he burned some, he also kept some with the intention to donate. In one of the burning transaction hashes, Buterin explained:

I have decided to burn 90% of the remaining Shiba tokens in my wallet. The remaining 10% will be sent to a (not yet decided) charity with similar values to CryptoRelief (preventing large-scale loss of life) but with a more long-term orientation.

• One of the initiatives that he apparently funded with some of the donations was the so-called Vitalik Butern Ph.D. Fellowship in AI Existential Safety. 
• It is designed for students who are starting their Ph.D. programs in 2022 and plan to work on AI existential safety research. It would also include existing Ph.D. students who wouldn’t otherwise receive funding to work on the same matter.

At universities in the US, UK, or Canada, annual funding will cover tuition, fees, and the stipend of the student’s Ph.D. program up to $40,000 as well as a fund of $10,000 that can be used for research-related expenses such as travel and computing.

• The first group of recipients of the grant has already been selected. It was announced on Wednesday.

Please welcome our first class of @VitalikButerin
Fellows in AI Existential Safety, and consider collaborating with them to ensure that AI become the best rather than worst thing to happen to humanity! https://t.co/El90YF95Xr pic.twitter.com/dKVX94upOM

— Max Tegmark (@tegmark) July 20, 2022

• Notably, Buterin thanked the entire Shiba Inu community, saying that without them, this would not have been possible.

Big thanks to the Shiba Inu community, whose cryptocurrency made these fellowships possible! – He noted.