Real AI use cases in crypto, No. 2: AIs can run DAOs
For every genuine blockchain project harnessing artificial intelligence there are 100 coins trading off the hype.
Magazine spoke with Near founder Illia Polosukhin, Framework Ventures founder Vance Spencer, MakerDAO founder Rune Christensen, Richard Ma from Quantstamp, Ralf Kubli from Casper and others to explore some of the key hype-free, genuine use cases for AI in crypto and blockchain.
We’re rolling out one genuine use case for AI in crypto each day this week — including reasons why you shouldn’t necessarily believe the hype.
AIs can help run DAOs
Decentralized autonomous organizations, as they exist today, are something of a fraud. As Framework Ventures founder Vance Spencer points out, they are “not actually autonomous. There’s a bunch of people in the middle.“
“It just seems like AI is really our only way to actually make the DAO concept work,” he says.
Given LLMs hallucinate between 3% to 27% of their output at present, the technology is too immature to run a DAO by itself or to enforce governance rules, says Maker founder Rune Christensen. Nevertheless, he’s mapped out an ambitious plan for AIs to help run MakerDAO and its forthcoming subDAOs in his Endgame manifesto.
“People misunderstand what we mean with AI governance, right? We’re not talking about AI running a DAO,” he says.
“What AI is so great at, is replacing the most soul numbing, dumbest part of the work.”
One of the big difficulties with DAOs is that it’s very difficult for members dispersed around the globe to understand what everyone else is doing and for tokenholders to understand the issues in the DAO well enough to cast an informed vote.
Near founder Illia Polushkin — an expert in both AI and blockchain — explains that AIs really shine when it comes to monitoring what’s going on and then summarizing and communicating that information effectively.
“In a way, that’s a manager’s job,” he says. “They know exactly what’s happening and they communicate to everyone exactly the part you need to know, as well as broader context about what’s happening.”
He says AI can scale up to work with thousands of people, onboard new DAO members, manage logistics and coordinate everyone’s tasks.
The broader direction of the DAO can still be set by the community, likely via an elected board of directors.
“It can still be overseen by the community, they can provide feedback and decide on what are the goals for the DAO.”
Read also
The Near future… of AI-assisted DAO
Polushkin says the Near Foundation plans to experiment with the use of AI to coordinate smaller tasks before graduating to more complex and important jobs. The hope is that eventually, the AI will be able to handle the day to day management.
“I think the role of me and other folks in the system should be replaced in many ways, right?” Polushkin says.
“You know, we can still come up with ideas, but I think the coordination of all the functions (can be handled by AI).”
Members of the Near community have already experimented with building an AI that can autonomously decide which projects to support with funding, based on whether it believes a proposal satisfies the grant program criteria, and then automatically fund it from the treasury.
Maker’s AI Atlas
Maker’s approach will be to use various forms of AI tools — called Governance Artificial Intelligence Tools (GAITs) — as a guide to the entire project. It’s currently undertaking the mammoth task of cataloging in a formalized dataset what’s going on, who is doing what, along with all the rules that govern the workings of the DAO and everything that Maker has ever done. They’re calling the dataset “Atlas,” as it will give a global overview of the entire project — and it will be updated in real-time.
“Having that sort of central repository of data just makes it actually realistic to have hundreds of thousands of people from different backgrounds and different levels of understanding meaningfully collaborate and interact because they’ve got this shared language.”
Community members can use GAITs to find and bid on projects, with the AI providing instant feedback on whether a proposal fits within the guidelines, overarching aims and budget. The ability to instantly translate between languages will help communicate better with community members based in different parts of the globe.
Fullblown AI-assisted DAO governance is unlikely to be ready for the launch of Maker’s four new subDAOs in early 2024, but Christensen sees huge potential in the future.
“The AI strategy just changes how many humans you need in order to have a successful DAO,” he says.
“It’s possible that once you really get AI-assisted governance to a level of maturity, you may have a lot more DAOs than you have humans.”
You can read more on what Maker is up to here.
Read also
Don’t believe the hype
AI is already a useful tool for DAOs, but it will be a long time before AI will be mature enough to actually run DAOs.
Given the fierce politics in DAOs (often around who gets funding) there will a temptation to outsource decision-making to an “unbiased AI,” but this is not possible with any degree of confidence yet, given the state of the technology.
The current generation of LLMs hallucinate their answers at least 3% of the time, making them an unreliable guide to DAO governance and could see them potentially steering community members down the wrong path while attempting to coordinate them.
Given this unreliability, it’ll be a long time before you’d trust one with the keys to your treasury without strict guidelines and spending caps to mitigate any errors.
Also read — Real AI use cases in crypto, No. 1: The best money for AI is crypto
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Crypto users betting on the outcome of the snap election to determine the next Prime Minister of Canada appear to be favoring a Liberal Party victory as residents head to cast their votes.
As of April 28, cryptocurrency betting platform Polymarket gave current Canadian Prime Minister and Liberal Party candidate Mark Carney a 79% chance of defeating Conservative Party candidate Pierre Poilievre in the race for the country’s next PM. Data from the platform showed users had poured more than $75 million into bets surrounding the race, predicting a Poilievre or Carney victory.
The odds suggested by the platform, as well as those from many polls, show a nearly complete reversal of fortunes between the two candidates after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned in January. Trudeau and, by association, many in the Liberal Party, faced criticism over the handling of Canada’s housing crisis and questions about how he would face US President Donald Trump’s then-proposed tariffs.
Following Trudeau’s resignation, Trump stepped up rhetoric disparaging Canada, repeatedly referring to the country as the US’s “51st state” and Trudeau as its “governor.” The US President also imposed a 25% tariff on goods imported from Canada in March. The policies seem to have led to increasing anti-Trump sentiment in Canada, with many residents booing the US national anthem at hockey games and making comparisons between the president and Poilievre.
This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.
Politics
Small boat crossings pass 10,000 at earliest point in year since records began, Sky News understands
Small boat crossings have passed 10,000 in 2025 at the earliest point in a year since records began, Sky News understands.
Analysis of previous Home Office numbers and footage of people arriving today show the number of people crossing the Channel continuing to rise.
The issue has become a lodestone for political parties across the spectrum, with Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “Stop The Boats” falling well short.
Politics latest: PM warns of Tory-Reform pact ‘disaster’
Sir Keir Starmer promised to clear the backlog of asylum applications and “Smash The Gangs” of people smugglers upstream, but critics say he has failed to do this almost a year into his stint in Number Ten.
Reform’s Nigel Farage has made the issue key to his party’s pitch to voters.
The 10,000 figure is understood to have been passed on 28 April. Official figures only go until 27 April at the time of writing, with 9,885 people detected crossing the Channel by the UK government at this point
This compares to 7,167 by the same date in 2024, 5,745 in 2023, 5,352 in 2022, and 1,796 in 2021. Data only started to get collected in 2018, and for the first three years fewer than 1,000 people were observed crossing the Channel before 28 April.
Fine weather conditions are known to lead to an increase in people crossing the Channel, with some efforts earlier this year stymied by heavy winds.
Sir Keir scrapped the Conservative’s Rwanda deportation plan when entering office. In March, the prime minister said his government had “returned” 24,000 people who had no right to be in the UK.
Read more:
Why more people cross on the weekend?
Gusty conditions halt small boat crossings
Starmer: 24,000 people returned
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: “Britain’s borders are being torn apart under Labour. This year is already the worst on record for small boat crossings after over 10,000 illegal immigrants arrived in Britain, but Labour just sit on their hands.
“Labour scrapped our deterrent before it even started, flung open the door to extremists and criminals, and handed the bill to hardworking taxpayers.
“Under new Conservative leadership, we are serious about tackling this crisis with deliverable reforms, but Labour continue to block these at every turn. Labour’s open-door chaos is a betrayal of the British people, and we will not let them get away with it.”
Mr Philp was part of previous Conservative governments, which also failed to reduce crossings.
Speaking to broadcasters, Mr Farage said: “If this carries on at this rate, by the end of this Labour government another quarter of a million people will have come into this country, many of whom frankly don’t fit our culture or cost us a fortune.”
He claimed that Reform is “the only party” saying that “unless you deport those that come illegally, they will just continue to come”.
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A Home Office spokesperson said: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
“The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay and we will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.
“That is why this government has put together a serious plan to take down these networks at every stage.
“Through international intelligence sharing under our Border Security Command, enhanced enforcement operations in Northern France and tougher legislation in the Border Security and Asylum Bill, we are strengthening international partnerships and boosting our ability to identify, disrupt, and dismantle criminal gangs whilst strengthening the security of our borders.”
The Stacks Asia DLT Foundation has become the first Bitcoin-based organization to establish an official presence in the Middle East, aiming to promote institutional Bitcoin adoption through expanded educational initiatives.
Stacks Asia has partnered with the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) — one of the world’s fastest-growing financial centers — in a move that could boost the adoption of its Bitcoin (BTC) layer-2 (L2) solution in the Middle East and Asia.
The new partnership will play a “pivotal role” in shaping the future of Bitcoin’s “programmability and adoption” in these regions through educational programs and support for Bitcoin builders, according to an April 28 announcement shared with Cointelegraph.
Through the collaboration, Stacks and the ADGM aim to make it easier for institutions and investors to participate in the growing Bitcoin economy and help set “new standards for regulatory clarity and technical growth” for the rising global Bitcoin capital, according to Kyle Ellicott, executive director at Stacks Asia DLT Foundation.
Related: Crypto options desk QCP Capital wins Abu Dhabi license: Report
“Stacks and ADGM are a powerful combination for accelerating Bitcoin adoption across the Middle East and Asia,” Ellicott told Cointelegraph, adding:
“ADGM has established itself as a world-class global financial hub at the heart of the United Arab Emirates, known as the ‘Capitol of Capital,’ where capital and innovation are brought together to shape the future financial landscape.”
“We’ll be working to enable the launch of educational programs, regional developer communities, and create opportunities for the real-world adoption of Bitcoin-powered applications,” he said.
Starting in May, the foundation will host a series of live and virtual events to “empower institutions” with the knowledge to integrate Bitcoin into their operations and learn about the “opportunity of productive Bitcoin capital,” Ellicott added.
Related: Nomura crypto arm Laser Digital bags Abu Dhabi license
Stacks Foundation pushing for a “progressive” regulatory environment worldwide
As the leading Bitcoin scalability solution, Stacks is also pushing for progressive global regulations that will cement Bitcoin’s role in the future of the financial landscape.
“We’re not just focused locally — our team is engaged in global conversations, advocating for frameworks that balance decentralization, security, innovation, and compliance surrounding the unlocking of Bitcoin capital,” Ellicott said.
A key part of the strategy involves knowledge sharing with local regulatory bodies to build understanding among government officials about Bitcoin’s characteristics and potential economic impact.
The foundation is also developing the Bitcoin Capital Activation Framework, described as a comprehensive policy blueprint to help regulators enable Bitcoin utility in their jurisdictions.
The Stacks Foundation will also launch the Bitcoin Policy Bridge in May, a working group uniting regulators from all key jurisdictions across the Middle East and Asia.
In February, ADGM signed a memorandum of understanding with the Solana Foundation to advance the development of distributed ledger technology.
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