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

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-cognitive-revolution/user-owned-ai-on-chain-training-inference-and-agents-with-near-s-illia-polosukhin
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-cognitive-revolution/user-owned-ai-on-chain-training-inference-and-agents-with-near-s-illia-polosukhin.md
Podcast: ["The Cognitive Revolution" | AI Builders, Researchers, and Live Player Analysis](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-cognitive-revolution)
Published: 2025-09-13T16:55:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.cognitiverevolution.ai
Audio file: https://pdst.fm/e/mgln.ai/e/1113/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/RINTP9137050935.mp3?updated=1757770580
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Duration seconds: 5588

## Resource

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 Infra…

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