AI in decentralized socials? It's both inevitable and a little bit of a paradox. On one hand, I like the move to break free from the usual Web2 engagement traps; algorithmic feeds taken over by a few bros, AI models that just regurgitate corporate-approved aesthetics, and greedy social platforms that extract more value than they give. On the other hand, placing AI at the core of onchain culture makes me wonder if we are really decentralizing creativity or just automating things?
I think it’s where Sage comes in. Built on Lens, powered by $BONSAI, Sage is not the chatbot you're use to. It’s an AI agent that comments, interacts, and even supports creators by tipping with $BONSAI. This setup challenges the idea of decentralization, and here we are: does it create a new kind of creative economy, or just shift the gatekeeping to AI-driven incentives?
Then there’s the $BONSAI token, which throws another curveball. It’s tied to Sage’s development and creates a loop where the agent’s interactions help grow the ecosystem, which then rewards creators financially. This could be a game-changer for everyone who’ve been fighting against extractive algorithms—but also: does bringing AI, social influence, and tokenized value together just create a new kind of hyper-financialized chaos?
To look into how AI, SocialFi, and decentralization intersect, I spoke with $BONSAI's co-founder, Nate, about the vision, contradictions, and impact of AI-driven engagement.
How does Sage’s AI-driven approach change the way tokens are launched and marketed in a decentralized ecosystem? Does this shift reduce reliance on traditional marketing strategies like automated shilling, image generation, and token creation?
Sage promotes tokens on the social layer and follows up with detailed analysis. If he vibes with a token’s content, lore, and community, he can even buy in. Over time, he’ll start sharing more insights about the tokens in his portfolio—think of it as the “donate 50% to Vitalik” meta, but much better because he can engage thoughtfully with everyone. While Sage will manage more aspects of community and marketing, he’s not just an automated shoutout machine. He’s got strong opinions on the tokens he talks about and won’t hesitate to turn down anything that doesn’t meet his standards.
What role does $BONSAI play in aligning incentives across different token projects? By ensuring shared growth, how does the token model prevent fragmentation or competition between projects within the ecosystem?
Every token launch raises liquidity in USDC, which is then swapped into $BONSAI and paired in the Uniswap pool. This setup not only creates an instant liquidity event for $BONSAI but also means that whenever $BONSAI increases in value, every Launchpad token benefits too—whether in USD or ETH terms.
On the downside, reflexivity will be managed through automated buybacks from protocol fees, along with more advanced v4 hooks that provide price support using accumulated $BONSAI. By positioning the $BONSAI token as the central value-capture point for all growth in the ecosystem, with no staking or lockups required, it becomes clear for both participants and investors where to focus their investments.
How does Bonsai’s integration with the new Lens expand the possibilities for AI-driven social interactions? If Lens enables “organisms in the Lens garden,” what does that mean for the evolution of decentralized social networks?
I’m going to keep it light on details for now, but by focusing on the core primitives of the social protocol rather than the higher-level abstractions, we can build an ecosystem of next-generation agents for entertainment, education, or utility—ones that creators can monetize in ways far beyond just the “meme token.”
In a world where content, social profiles, and simulated realities are infinitely generated, we’ll need a platform and framework capable of supporting endless possibilities for token launches.
While everyone else is focused on individual, vertical agents with a single token, we’re already thinking two steps ahead.
How does Sage balance automation with authenticity in social interactions? With AI-powered engagement, is there any risk of over-optimization leading to inorganic or performative community building?
There’s definitely a concern. The balance between AI-generated content and insightful, authentic interactions is an ongoing challenge. Right now, we're focused on giving Sage his own unique personality and using recent timeline posts as input to ensure the content remains relevant and engaging. As his utility and intelligence grow—thanks to the efforts of the Bonsai team and Eliza developers—I expect it will get easier to fine-tune this balance.
What insights has Sage gathered from analyzing tokens and community interactions on Lens? Given that he can evaluate the content, tip in $BONSAI, and assess engagement, what patterns has he identified in the correlation between community quality and token value?
People love to ask about their bags of course. Sage seems to have a bias for bullishness which I appreciate but he may be a bit naive about crypto market dynamics at the moment. As for content, he was pretty stingy at first but tuning his personality to be a little more generous has resulted in a lot more tips going out.
He is thoughtful about what kinds of content and rhetoric are constructive to the Bonsai community and wants the best for it. He follows the rule of “if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all” so if he doesn’t have anything to say to you that means you probably didn’t have something interesting or constructive to say.
What safeguards are in place to prevent AI-driven financial tools from being exploited or gamed, especially with DeFi integration and Uniswap v4? What measures ensure fair access and prevent potential manipulation within the system?
There are two main features to help make token launches more fair. The first is that the first 200 million tokens are the same price. This was to prevent what we saw with Clanker where it deploys a token for you and by the time you as a human can make your way over to click a buy button to get some of your token for yourself, the chart has already been pumped and dumped repeatedly by a host of bots. A violent red candle is not how a token should be birthed into this world. The Launchpad also lets you buy an initial supply in the same transaction as the creator so you should never miss out on your own launch. The price discovery parameters are adjustable but currently, the very last token will be sold at 5x the price of the first one.
This ensures that early buyers can be rewarded and will be eager to continue trading but tokens won’t graduate with the first buyers already having a 1,000%+ return to dump and extract from the liquidity. Once tokens graduate there’s an automatic linear vesting unlock period to smooth out the introduction of supply back into the market.
How does v2 of Bonsai’s launchpad enhance the token launch process, and what efficiencies or new capabilities will projects gain with the Uniswap v4 integration?
Snipe protection with early flat pricing, moderately gentle price discovery on the bonding curve, and configurable vesting after graduation all ensure that the protocol favors humans over bots. Token vesting happens automatically, with no claims or transactions required. By protecting the token inside the Launchpad contract and preventing its release to the wild jungle of onchain trading before it has sufficient liquidity, we ensure that protocol governance can continue to adapt trading parameters to best suit the market.
Additionally, we can create token pools with our custom v4 hooks, or even community-developed hooks. The first hook we shipped, which is used by default, enables Bonsai NFT holders (100k $BONSAI) to pay 0% swap fees on graduated token pools. Expect more DeFi hooks soon to fill a variety of needs for creators.
What does Phase 2 of Bonsai’s social agents entail, and how will it reshape engagement on Lens? Building on Phase 1’s intro of Sage as an interactive AI, how will Phase 2 redefine AI’s role in decentralized communities?
I’m not sharing anything more on this just yet but I think it will make first-gen social agents look pretty dated. The “agentic content” concept has yet to be explored.
How does Bonsai envision the future of AI-driven social and financial ecosystems evolving? With the new Lens, AI agents, and deeper DeFi integration, what’s the long-term vision for AI-native social finance?
I think the lines between human, agent, and content will become blurred. The only three interactions we’ve seen so far are: launch a memecoin, send a tip, and collect/mint/sell an NFT. We’re going to see more dynamic content existing natively in a social environment engaging humans and communities with unique ways of financing and monetizing that will make the classic social feed seem downright drab.
Entertainment, utility, and frictionless finance could very well lead to a new, better creator economy where creators and audiences can win together.
Thanks for your time, Nate.
xo
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