I think that it is the alpha version of a model of digital governance, and there will be more to come in the future, though I doubt that the immediate up-and-comers have got this in mind or in their design.

I was pleased to read about some of the upcoming changes. How to implement a turing test on a blockchain is a little bit of a puzzle, but by no means unresolvable. I mean even the one of constructing simple math puzzles entirely in natural language works. Of course the bot-herders will most likely adapt and apply AI systems to this, as well as more malicious hijacks of other sites to solve the puzzles, but to diminish the influence of automated account activity would be great. Also, the lending of SP to good, small curators.

I envision that eventually, governance of Steem will not require active participation of the founders, who will find ways to use the corporate-democratic system of stake based voting to direct development and hosting of services. I know if I was a founder, I would want to eventually be able to put this into a system that automatically put it in the hands of the most capable and efficient operators, and just sit back and rake in the rewards, and move onto something new.