[prohobo]

The first two are not gambling. There is no mechanism where you can lose your pooled funds. Don't believe me? Read the fucking contracts. How much clearer can this be?

As for the rest of your comment, I think your diagnosis is wrong. This is purely political action, which is why so many people can't see the benefits. They think blockchain tech was supposed to clearly change what's possible - but it doesn't: instead it decentralizes it and removes the requirement of trust, which indirectly enables new possibilities. There is no current system that doesn't degrade over time due to various influences, or is immune from corruption. Blockchain based solutions don't solve the physical aspect of trust, and so would require the buy-in and cooperation of society through politics. What blockchains do is solve digital corruption and codifying rules, which changes the way people interact with systems.

[paulgb]

But it is gambling, it's just that you're gambling your interest foregone rather than the principal.

Back to my original question, though, I don't see what real-world problem it solves to add stochastic variability to interest payments.

[prohobo]

That's not what my point was about. The point was autonomous services, and I also outlined an idea for one that would have real-world benefit (if properly designed). You can argue that there are no "useful" services yet, but not that there will never be any.