I delved into the fundamental reason of the bot issue. https://steemit.com/steem/@clayop/revisiting-curation-reward-hot-coffee-cold-coffee-and-lukewarm-coffee
I think one of the main issue is misaligned incentives, which disincentivizes humans. I personally strongly believe satisfaction or psychic income, and humans can be motivated by them. In this sense, I am not a huge fan of curation reward.

I can be a whale, but I am planning to delegate majority of my SP to active Korean community members. I think it's the most valuable role as a whale; empowering others with my stake. Who knows? Giving up small money will give much more money? (Steem To da Alpha Centauri!)