1. INTRODUCTION & PROBLEM STATEMENT

1. INTRODUCTION & PROBLEM STATEMENT

1.1 The Broken Digital Economy

The internet promised freedom and opportunity but delivered a system where the many create value and the few collect rewards. Today's digital economy operates on a fundamental imbalance with devastating consequences:

The Extraction Problem

• Data Exploitation: The average person unknowingly contributes $1,500+ in data value annually without receiving a penny in return

• Wasted Resources: 95% of global computing resources sit idle while AI companies struggle for processing power

• Attention Harvesting: Your attention, creativity, and personal information fuel billion-dollar companies while you receive nothing

• Algorithmic Manipulation: Platforms optimize for engagement regardless of your wellbeing

• Creator Underpayment: Content creators earn pennies while platforms pocket dollars from their work

This isn't merely unfair—it's unsustainable. The digital economy has become a one-way extraction machine that treats humans as resources to be mined rather than partners to be rewarded.

Traditional Value Extraction vs. The Value Web

How Current Systems Work

In today's model:

• Your data flows one-way to tech giants

• Your attention becomes their advertising inventory

• Your content creates engagement for their platforms

• Your computing power remains untapped while they build massive data centers

This extraction system concentrates wealth at the top while users—the true value creators—receive nothing in return.