Founder of Bitcoin Red Team forced to adopt Chinese AI models: 'Deeply troubling'
Rob Hamilton, a security researcher focused on Bitcoin, reports having to switch back to open-source Chinese AI platforms for code auditing purposes after OpenAI restricted his access, despite prior authorization.
A researcher specializing in Bitcoin security has indicated he's been compelled to revert to utilizing Chinese open-source artificial intelligence platforms following unexpected restrictions imposed by OpenAI that prevented him from conducting further codebase analysis, underscoring an increasing worry that the most advanced AI technologies are being withheld from those working in defensive security.
Through a post shared on X this Tuesday, Rob Hamilton, who serves as CEO of AnchorWatch, revealed that he had started incorporating OpenAI's Trust & Cyber functionalities into his work with Bitcoin Red Team on Saturday, but discovered his access had been cut off by the next morning.
It absolutely guts me as a patriotic American to have to do this, but I will be going back to using Chinese open source models to conduct my research to protect Bitcoin infrastructure.
The volunteer-driven Bitcoin Red Team initiative has been employing artificial intelligence technologies alongside human oversight to examine hundreds of Bitcoin-related open-source code repositories for security weaknesses, with these activities intensifying in the days following the breach of the Coldcard hardware wallet, an incident that has resulted in the theft of more than $100 million worth of Bitcoin.
During the previous month, cryptocurrency industry leaders informed Cointelegraph that numerous major players within the crypto sector remain in a holding pattern, waiting for access to cutting-edge AI platforms that could help fortify their code against malicious attacks, with access granted to only a limited number of organizations thus far.
I am now prevented from being able to continue the investigation in a further effort to make sure their code changes are sufficient, as well as understand if there are other issues that have yet to be discovered.
Rob Hamilton
Black hats will not hit these issues. The white hats will. We've hit a local minima in policy. Intelligence is unrestricted for those who don't follow rules, and those who engage in harm reduction are left on the sidelines.
Rob Hamilton