Open Conversations: The Only Way Forward Is User-Owned AI (Illia Polosukhin)

A conversation with Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of NEAR Protocol. As AI becomes more powerful, it’s increasingly controlled by a few centralized entities—raising serious questions about who benefits, who gets left out, and who holds the power. In a time when trust in institutions is eroding, Illia shares why user-owned AI could be the key to reclaiming agency, reshaping how we make decisions, and rebuilding systems that serve people, not platforms. He explains how NEAR is building the infrastructure for a future where AI acts as an advocate for individuals. Created at Funding the Commons at the Internet Archive, San Francisco, March 2025. Relevant Projects: NEAR: https://near.org Funding the Commons: https://www.fundingthecommons.io Thank You to Our Sponsors: Protocol Labs: https://www.protocol.ai/ NEAR Foundation: https://near.foundation/ Holonym: https://holonym.io/ Octant: https://octant.app/ Drips Network: https://drips.network/ Filecoin Foundation: https://fil.org/ OpenLedger: https://www.openledger.xyz/ Orange DAO: https://www.orangedao.xyz/ Regen Network: https://www.regen.network/