Bitcoin Core developers debate whether the project is falling behind on AI use

Bitcoin Core developers used their weekly meeting last Thursday to debate whether the project is keeping pace with AI, according to a post on X by Christine D. Kim. The discussion centered on whether the team has moved too slowly both in defending against AI-driven security threats and in using AI tools for internal engineering work. Spiral lead Steve Lee said donors and community members are worried that the Core project is not doing enough on either front. In his account of the meeting, those concerns covered two issues: protection against AI-related network threats, and the use of AI to assist with code review, testing, and troubleshooting. The debate came as security incidents tied to AI were already drawing attention in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Kim said more than 5,200 Bitcoin addresses have been hacked this month, with losses above 1,800 BTC. She also wrote that hackers reportedly used Kimi K3 to discover a vulnerability in the Coldcard wallet, while the CLN client rushed to patch a critical flaw after a surge in AI-generated reports.