Sam Blackshear, one of the key developers behind the Sui blockchain at Mysten Labs, has decided to shift his focus to AI security research at Anthropic. He has spoken about how the growing use of AI is changing the dynamics in technology, especially in making digital attacks both quicker and more difficult to detect.
A major career shift toward AI
In 2021, Blackshear joined forces with four other ex-Meta employees to start Mysten Labs. Now, as he prepares to leave the company, the technical direction will fall under the leadership of Evan Cheng, Mysten’s CEO. Blackshear emphasized that his motivation comes from working on hands-on technical projects that tackle new and complex issues. This move, he said, offers the perfect opportunity to work on AI-driven security at a crucial time.
Blackshear has always been passionate about solving challenging technical problems. His transition to Anthropic is described as a step toward exploring new problem areas, particularly in the fast-evolving field of AI-enabled security.
Accelerated threats and defenses in the age of AI
The rise of artificial intelligence has significantly changed the cybersecurity landscape. AI tools are now used to uncover software vulnerabilities, generate phishing emails, and target blockchain infrastructure. Blackshear shared an experience where his team used the AI assistant Claude to scan smart contract code written in Move, the language behind the Sui blockchain. The AI efficiently identified possible security issues.
Blackshear said the results of this experiment left him in awe. He explained that the AI not only completed the task quickly but did so with surprising accuracy. “It just did it,” he said, describing how this moment helped him realize the profound shift taking place in cybersecurity.
Crypto companies push for access to advanced AI
Numerous leading players in the cryptocurrency world are trying to gain access to cutting-edge AI models to enhance their defenses. However, these models are often only available to a limited number of companies, including those partnered with Anthropic. Michael Coates, the Solana Foundation’s chief information security officer, stressed the importance of making powerful AI tools accessible to defenders rather than just attackers. “We need to ensure the best models are available to the right people,” he told Cointelegraph, highlighting the urgency of streamlining verification and access programs to protect the industry.