Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, argues that artificial intelligence has rendered traditional developer count metrics obsolete. For years, blockchain projects used the number of engineers contributing code as a primary indicator of growth. Hoskinson claims that AI coding assistants have eliminated the scarcity of human developers, allowing individuals with minimal technical experience to produce functional software.
The rise of AI-generated code complicates verification processes for blockchain teams. Hoskinson notes that hackathons and code bounty programs now struggle to distinguish between original work and AI output, forcing teams to spend time verifying authorship instead of focusing on project development. He advocates for prioritizing ventures that attract paying users and external investors.
Despite these views, the Midnight Foundation, a privacy-focused blockchain built on Cardano, continues to host hackathons. The foundation recently launched three such events, including one in Korea that began on September 1, with total prize pools amounting to $26 500. Hoskinson acknowledged this discrepancy, stating that his perspective differs from the current strategy of the foundation.
The shift in strategy follows the foundation's decision to reduce its recruitment team and focus on builders. Hoskinson previously stepped away from promoting the ADA token in June. Currently, Cardano trades at $0.21, reflecting a 0.8% increase over the last 24 hours. The impact of these strategic changes on the ecosystem is expected to become clearer over the next two quarters.
