The Declaration

Hello, my name is Trenton McNelly, and I need to tell you something important.

The world we live in today doesn't feel human anymore. Every morning, we wake up to notifications designed to hijack our attention. Every click, every scroll, every pause is measured, monetized, and manipulated. We've become products in a system that profits from our distraction, our anxiety, and our disconnection from what truly matters.

This isn't an accident. It's the result of a deliberate economic model that treats human attention as a commodity to be extracted, not as the sacred foundation of consciousness, creativity, and connection that it actually is.

But here's what I've learned after years of working inside this system: It doesn't have to be this way.

Technology should serve humanity, not the other way around. The internet should be a tool for human flourishing, not a machine for behavioral manipulation. Our data should belong to us, our stories should be told by us, and our digital lives should reflect our actual values—not the values that someone else wants to sell us.

This is why I founded Ad+Verb as an open-source, non-profit foundation. Not to build another company that extracts value from people, but to build infrastructure that gives value back to people. To create tools that restore personal sovereignty in the digital age.

We call this the Age of Participation—a future where individuals control their own data, tell their own stories, and participate as equals in the digital economy rather than being farmed as products.

The Ad+Verb Protocol is our first step toward this future. It's an open standard that puts you back in control of your digital identity, your personal data, and your narrative. It's designed to be owned by everyone and controlled by no one.

This isn't just about technology. It's about reclaiming our humanity in an increasingly digital world. It's about building systems that enhance human connection rather than exploit it. It's about creating a future where technology serves human flourishing, not corporate profits.

The cathedral must be built by the people, for the people. And it starts with each of us choosing to participate in building something better.

Will you join us?