"Governance is not a Casino": Meta Pool Commits to Radical Decentralization and AI Integration

Claudio Cossio details the long-term vision of the protocol for equitable governance, with the goal of empowering global communities through AI and mobile-first access

For Meta Pool, governance is more than just a feature; it is the culmination of its four-year mission. Co-founder Claudio Cossio explained in a live stream alongside Illia Polusukhin, co-founder of NEAR Protocol, to clarify its purpose:

"We're not building this to make people happy... or to make money. We're building something where organizations and individuals will have control."

This vision directly informs his new approach to integrating AI to solve the thorniest problems of governance.

Confronting Apathy and Centralization Head-On

Cossio openly addressed common criticisms of DAOs, such as the concentration of voting power among founders. "We gave them the tokens... we weren't restricting access," he said, emphasizing that the path to participation has always been open. The real challenge, he explained, is apathy and the overwhelming complexity of governance.

The solution lies in AI agents that can act as a "Jiminy Cricket," delivering digestible, personalized summaries of proposals directly to users and helping them participate on their own terms.

A Global and Mobile-First Future

Looking beyond current limitations, Cossio outlined a vision where AI enables true global participation. He highlighted regions such as Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, where users are "mobile-first" and often lack laptops. "An AI agent can interact with any interface you design," he said, envisioning a future where governance is accessible through simple mobile apps, breaking down technical and geographical barriers to entry.

The Commitment to Build in Public

Cossio concluded with a call to action, urging the community to move beyond the "insult wars on Crypto Twitter" and actively participate in building. Meta Pool's commitment is to continue its "trial and error" approach in public, incorporating business partners into its governance and acting as a fundamental pillar for NEAR's broader House of Stake model, all in pursuit of a more equitable and decentralized future.