I'm not sure if bid bots were anticipated when Steem was conceived, but they have spoiled the proof of brain concept.

We're sort of a collective start up for an attempt to make a decentralized social media that is tied together with an economic system – something never seen before, so it's no wonder there's going to be unforeseen problems. There's no roadmap or guidebook how to make this stuff, all we can do is to ride through unknown territory and adjust on the way.