Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin proposes AI 'stewards' to help reinvent DAO governance

CoinDesk

by Francisco Rodrigues

February 21, 2026

AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary

Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a novel approach to revitalize decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) by introducing AI-powered "stewards" to enhance governance efficiency and scalability. His plan involves leveraging personal artificial intelligence agents, trained on individual preferences and past behavior, to cast votes on behalf of users within DAOs. This system aims to address the challenges of low participation and power centralization that have plagued DAOs, encouraging individuals to take a more active role in decision-making rather than relying solely on large token holders. The proposal outlines two key technical innovations: privacy protection through zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) and secure environments like multi-party computation (MPC) or trusted execution environments (TEEs). These tools ensure that voter identities and sensitive data remain confidential, preventing coercion, bribery, and other malicious activities. Additionally, AI agents would operate within these secure frameworks to process private information without exposing it on public blockchains, maintaining both user anonymity and data security. Buterin also emphasizes the importance of filtering out low-quality or spammy proposals, which have become a challenge as generative AI increasingly floods open forums with noise. To tackle this issue, he suggests integrating prediction markets where AI agents can bet on the likelihood of proposal acceptance. This mechanism would incentivize high-value contributions while penalizing irrelevant or unproductive ideas. The introduction of AI stewards is designed to automate routine governance tasks and flag only critical issues for human review, streamlining decision-making processes. By delegating routine decisions to AI models trained on individual values and preferences, DAOs could achieve greater efficiency and scalability, enabling more effective collective action without overwhelming participants with complex or numerous choices. This innovative approach not only addresses the current inefficiencies in DAO governance but also aligns with broader trends in decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain technology. By combining AI, privacy-preserving technologies, and incentive mechanisms, Buterin's proposal offers a potential pathway to more inclusive, efficient, and secure decentralized systems. As DAOs continue to evolve, such advancements could play a pivotal role in determining their long-term viability and impact on the crypto ecosystem.

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Originally published on CoinDesk on 2/21/2026