Illia Polosukhin: Why AI Agents Are Still Useless (And What Fixes Them) | NEAR Founder on IronClaw

March 24, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Illia Polosukhin, co-author of the 2017 Transformer paper and NEAR Protocol co-founder, explains why AI agents like those powered by Claude remain unproductive despite hype. He argues that AI will become the primary computing interface, replacing traditional OSes and apps, but requires blockchain as a secure backend for identity, markets, governance, and coordination—elements he identified early when using crypto for global data labeling payments in 2018.

Origins of AI-Blockchain Integration

Polosukhin left Google after the Transformer paper to build NEAR AI, aiming to teach machines to code. Compute shortages delayed progress, but paying global students for labeling tasks revealed crypto's utility: cheap, borderless micropayments without banks or entities. This led to NEAR blockchain in 2018. He saw blockchain enabling AI evolution through marketplaces (like Scale AI but via smart contracts, as in NEAR Crowd since 2021 with zero employees), compute coordination via confidential computing, and root-of-trust for identity and upgrades. Traditional systems fail here—centralized providers hold keys, enabling breaches—while blockchains offer protocol-governed upgradability, unlike slow IPv6 adoption or Microsoft's forced Windows updates.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:00) **Intro and Privacy Warning** - Hosts highlight risks of sending secrets to centralized AI providers like Anthropic/OpenAI
2 (00:36) **Guest Intro: Illia Polosukhin** - Transformer paper co-author, NEAR co-founder explains AI-blockchain path
3 (01:36) **NEAR AI Origins and Timeline Surprise** - Compute shortages delayed AI scaling post-Transformer paper
4 (04:14) **AI-Blockchain Synergy Thesis** - Blockchain enables AI evolution via marketplaces, identity, micropayments
5 (08:12) **AI Replaces Traditional OS** - Phones boot into AI OS composing apps on-demand (Jarvis-like)
6 (10:14) **Blockchain as AI Infrastructure** - Root of trust, governance, markets solve centralization issues
7 (14:48) **Unified Human-AI Systems** - No bifurcation; AI bridges fiat/crypto, bureaucracy via natural language

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

NEAR founder and Transformer co-author Illia Polosukhin joins us to break down why today’s AI agents still fall short, what’s missing to make them actually useful, and how IronClaw could unlock secure, private, autonomous AI.

We also explore Illia’s bigger thesis: AI becomes the interface, blockchains become the backend, and both reshape how humans, agents, and digital markets interact.

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro

0:43 Illia’s AI Journey

8:19 AI x Blockchain Operating Systems

14:40 Will Humans & AIs Use the Same Systems?

18:20 Why Are AI Agents Still Useless?

28:54 AI Agent Privacy Concerns

35:30 IronClaw Privacy

39:21 AI Agent Limitations

47:00 Context Constraints

53:42 Will Small Teams Win?

57:16 Autonomous Agents & Businesses

1:01:00 Digital Life Forms?

1:02:42 e/acc Vs d/acc

1:09:44 Why isn’t AI Crypto-Pilled

1:14:31 Advice for Builders

1:18:30 Closing & Disclaimers

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RESOURCES

Illia

https://x.com/ilblackdragon

IronClaw

https://agent.near.ai/

NEAR
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