# Defensive acceleration

Record: term-dacc · Type: term · Edition: 0.20.0 · Evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15

[Read in the atlas](https://theaiatlas.org/ideas/dacc/) · [Complete evidence](https://theaiatlas.org/evidence.html#idea-dacc) · [JSON](https://theaiatlas.org/records/term-dacc.json) · [Pinned complete dataset](https://theaiatlas.org/editions/e74392d479c0e7da8636a7d6a0454d03510df86ffca9931eb86babd952665ca5/data.json)

Dataset pointer: `/glossary/4`. Reviewed: 2026-09-15.

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## Publication dates and source age

Sources are over 18 months old.

Newest dated source: 2025-01-05. Assessed at this edition’s evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15. 18-month boundary: 2025-03-15.

Publication age does not establish validity or a new source-reading date. Unknown dates and month/year precision remain explicit in the JSON record.

## /summary

Vitalik Buterin’s proposal to accelerate defensive technologies and spread power. Deciding what counts as defensive and how to prevent concentrated control remains part of the proposal.

Claim: claim-term-dacc-1a5192ba3d7825ca26b24a72. Annotation: synthesis.

[dacc-update](https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2025/01/05/dacc2.html)

## /definition

Vitalik Buterin argues for advancing technologies that help people defend themselves and keep power widely shared. He also uses the d for differential, decentralized and democratic: choosing what to advance, avoiding central control and giving people a say.

Claim: claim-term-dacc-1e4c26398ee834b2e16dc7b8. Annotation: synthesis.

[dacc-update](https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2025/01/05/dacc2.html)

## /placement

Asks what to accelerate and who gains power. Faster defensive tools can coexist with caution about frontier AI.

Claim: claim-term-dacc-25f52a21ad9f2e54a62ed1b2. Annotation: editorial.

[dacc-original](https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2023/11/27/techno_optimism.html)

## /distinction

The approach is more than a midpoint between acceleration and a pause. Buterin acknowledges that defensive tools alone may arrive too late and discusses regulation. The intended benefits depend on what is built and who controls it.

Claim: claim-term-dacc-09422ce4d5c74cb753a9bb98. Annotation: synthesis.

[dacc-update](https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2025/01/05/dacc2.html)

## Source provenance

### dacc-update

[d/acc: one year later](https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2025/01/05/dacc2.html)

Vitalik Buterin · First-hand source (primary) · Published: 2025-01-05 · Material last read: 2026-09-15 · Verification: read

Read scope is described in the source note.

Read the definition and distinctions: defensive development combined with distributed and democratic control. Hypothetical future examples are not observed outcomes.

No archive check recorded.

### dacc-original

[My techno-optimism](https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2023/11/27/techno_optimism.html)

Vitalik Buterin · First-hand source (primary) · Published: 2023-11-27 · Material last read: 2026-09-15 · Verification: read

Read scope is described in the source note.

Read via the author's eth.limo site because vitalik.ca did not load. Introduces defensive, differential and decentralization-focused acceleration. Used for ideas, not a new placement of the author.

No archive check recorded.