From DAO to TAO: Finding The Essence of Decentralization
Juanjuan Li, Xiaolong Liang, Rui Qin, Fei–Yue Wang · 2023
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) have been gaining popularity in recent years due to their promise of realizing the decentralized Web 3.0. However, most DAOs rely heavily on token-centric value systems as well as allocate decision-making authority and yield-sharing rights according to the held tokens, which often lead to monopolization of power and rights. To address this issue, this paper contributes to propose a truly democratic organization model, named True Autonomous Organizations and Operations (TAOs), that does not count upon tokens and is guided by principles of contribution-based and on-demand allocation. We first discuss the design of TAOs, including their infrastructures, power structures, and value systems, and then provide a technical roadmap for implementing TAOs in the DeSci context. This research can provide a valuable guidance for the construction and application of TAOs.