User-Owned AI: On-Chain Training, Inference, and Agents, with NEAR's Illia Polosukhin from "The Cognitive Revolution" | AI Builders, Researchers, and Live Player Analysis

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Erik Torenberg, Nathan Labenz

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User-Owned AI: On-Chain Training, Inference, and Agents, with NEAR's Illia Polosukhin

1 hour 33 minutes Posted Sep 13, 2025 at 4:55 pm.

) About the Episode

) From Transformers to Blockchain (Part 1)

) Sponsor: Linear

) From Transformers to Blockchain (Part 2)

) Blockchain Security Fundamentals (Part 1)

) Sponsor: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

) Blockchain Security Fundamentals (Part 2)

) Zero-Day Vulnerabilities Solution

) Confidential Computing Infrastructure

) User-Owned AI Models

) Marketplace and Governance

) AI-Crypto Synergy Vision

) Autonomous Agents Future

) Outro

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1:33:08

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Today Illia Polosukhin, founder of Near Protocol joins The Cognitive Revolution to discuss the intersection of AI and blockchain technologies, exploring how decentralized infrastructure can enable "user-owned AI" through privacy-preserving model training, confidential computing, and autonomous agents that operate via smart contracts without centralized control.

Check out our sponsors: Linear, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.

Shownotes below brought to you by Notion AI Meeting Notes - try one month for free at: ⁠https://notion.com/lp/nathan

Evolution from AI to Blockchain: Near Protocol evolved from an AI project focused on teaching machines to code to a blockchain platform, and now combines both technologies.

Significant User Base: Near Protocol has achieved 50 million monthly active users, demonstrating substantial adoption.

Autonomous AI Agents: Near has developed autonomous AI agents that can operate independently once deployed, including an example of an agent given $10,000 to trade based on Twitter sentiment.

AI-Blockchain Integration: The platform combines decentralized compute for running AI with smart contracts that execute actions, creating truly autonomous systems.

AI in Governance: Near is experimenting with "AI senators" that people can vote for, which then make governance decisions, potentially solving the principal-agent problem in representation.

Jurisdictional Framework: Near is creating infrastructure for jurisdictions and courts to enforce rules on AI agents, essentially putting governance into AI.

Sponsors:

Linear:

Linear is the system for modern product development. Nearly every AI company you've heard of is using Linear to build products. Get 6 months of Linear Business for free at: https://linear.app/tcr

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure:

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is the next-generation cloud that delivers better performance, faster speeds, and significantly lower costs, including up to 50% less for compute, 70% for storage, and 80% for networking. Run any workload, from infrastructure to AI, in a high-availability environment and try OCI for free with zero commitment at https://oracle.com/cognitive

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