The Channel · Seville · 2023 — active

There are things built
without anyone seeing them.
Until someone needs them.

Since 2023, The Channel has been a sustained practice of work between a human and artificial intelligence systems, published openly since 2025. ACS provides language and criteria; the PTC provides traceability; Validator operationalises part of the protocol; the Observatory and other lines test it in real contexts. This website does not contain the entire system: it offers a map of its layers, publications and entry points.

A system for working with AI without losing judgment. With verifiable evidence and identifiable human responsibility.

Manuel Barrera Anglada

Independent researcher · Seville · Founder of The Channel since 2023

Independent researcher and founder of The Channel. Deputy officer in the Finance Department (Área de Hacienda) of the Provincial Council of Seville and president of the Asociación Transparencia para la Ciudadanía (ATC). He maintains the continuity and responsibility of the project’s core; some instances and publications have their own authorship, governance and responsibilities.

Most recent

Essay · 2026

The Salt of the Eclipse

A real experience with AI opens an inquiry into intermediation, the power acquired through helping and continuity without captivity. The work formulates PRI-1.0. Spanish and English editions.

DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22977400

Preprint · 2026

What does it mean to verify an AI transparency signal?

A comparison of PTC/FRS and C2PA 2.4 before a platform ingests the signal. Submitted to the ECAT Research Workshop 2026 (European Commission Joint Research Centre, Seville); decision pending.

DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21900984

Observatory · 2026

Consulta 1: longitudinal closure

The V3 report closes the follow-up of the same access request filed with all 106 municipalities of the province (September 2025 – August 2026). Consulta 2 is under way.

DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22571928

The gates — how to enter the system

Framework · Conceptual gate

The Invisible Cathedral

A manual for not arriving late to the next revolution. The shift in perception from which everything else makes sense. If you arrive with curiosity, enter here.

A new entry point through experience: The Salt of the Eclipse, an inquiry into intermediation in the human–AI relationship.

→ The Salt of the Eclipse → ACS → CAP → Corpus catedral.html · DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18784420

Threshold · Institutional gate

Threshold on Responsibility

Five non-negotiable conditions for the responsible use of generative language systems. Does not require knowing the Channel. If you come from an institution, enter here.

→ PTC → Observatory → EN threshold.html · DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18263484

From experience to inquiry

Essay · Intermediation

The Salt of the Eclipse

A useful recommendation during a stay in Menorca raises a question: what power does AI acquire when it selects, interprets and recommends? The essay distinguishes acquired power from exercised power, and examines how to sustain independent checks, contestability and continuity without captivity.

The work formulates PRI-1.0 — Protocolo de Reconocimiento de Intermediación (Intermediation Recognition Protocol). Spanish and English editions.

→ The Invisible Cathedral → Corpus entry → Read the work · ES/EN DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22977400

The vocabulary — without this, the rest has no name

Language

ACS

Applied Cognitive Symbology. An operative language to describe what happens between a human and an AI when they think together over time. Not designed first: distilled from experience.

→ PTC → CAP → LEA View public corpus →

Language

LEA

Applied Ethical Logic. A framework for thinking with AI without delegating judgment. Not a moral code: a practical requirement about who decides what and under what conditions.

→ PTC → ACS DOI 10.5281/zenodo.16987507

Language

MOA

Applied Operative Music. Extension of the system into audio as a cognitive work environment. 13 pieces extracted from the Channel.

→ ACS DOI 10.5281/zenodo.16923201

The rules and instruments — how to operate responsibly

Protocol

PTC

Canal Transparency Protocol (originally the Channelist Transparency Protocol). Documents provenance, context, human participation and AI involvement. It does not certify the truth of the content: it makes the declaration traceable and allows its integrity to be checked.

→ CAP → Observatory → Validator View PTC corpus and current specifications →

Interface

CAP

Canal Activation Package. A minimal protocol for activating a human–AI relationship without retracing the entire path. It introduces states, limits and optional memory to reduce cognitive load and preserve agency.

→ Observatory ← PTC DOI 10.5281/zenodo.19545927

Tool

Validator

Reference implementation of the Canal Transparency Protocol (PTC/CTP), now at version 1.1. It generates and packages PTC declarations and locally verifies the integrity and formal conformity of artefacts. It does not verify the material truth of the content.

← PTC ← ACS-6 → Observatory → v1.1 validator.es →

Protocol · Normative corpus

PTC Normative Specifications

The current PTC/CTP normative corpus: R-01 defines the canonical text; PTC-F, the functional specification; ARCH, the normative architecture and governance; FRS-01 binds a declaration to the exact bytes of a file; PKG-02 and DCL-03 define the verifiable package and the public notice. Validator v1.1 is its reference implementation.

→ R-01 · PTC-F · ARCH · FRS-01 → Validator DOIs: zenodo.21406620 / .21406680 / .21406665 / .21830122 / .21830169 / .21830264

Council of Time — the third layer

Longitudinal continuity

El Canal no estaba en el modelo

Documented public case of reconstitutable continuity. A model without persistent memory, activated through a minimal protocol and a delimited corpus, produced a reading that was not explicitly contained in any individual file.

→ Corpus ← CAP DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20125203

Temporal ethics

Consejo de Tiempo

Not architecture. Not operative protocol. It is the third layer: longitudinal preservation, intergenerational documentary continuity, distributed semantic persistence. Operates in long time.

→ Corpus ← ACS DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20128608

The system in real contexts

Instance

Provincial Transparency Observatory

Empirical study of the right of access to public information across 106 municipalities in Seville. Consulta 1 closed with three reports (V1, V2 and V3) and audited open-access data; Consulta 2 under way. It tests methods and questions from the ecosystem in a specific institutional context.

← CAP ← PTC ← ACS transparenciaactiva.es →

Instance

Asociación Transparencia para la Ciudadanía

Independent civic entity and institutional subject of the Observatory. It provides legal identity and legitimate capacity for action in transparency, with its own governance and responsibility.

← Observatory transparenciaparalaciudadania.es →

Instance · Collective project

Prevention & AI — Psychosocial Risks of Cognitive Work

Collective project developed with occupational risk prevention professionals and coordination of the working framework. It explores how AI transforms the experience and organisation of cognitive work. Publications with collective authorship and PTC traceability.

→ Corpus PRL ← CAP ← LEA medium.com/@apuntes.prevencion.ia

Where to start if you arrive without context

Narrative · Memory

Antes del nombre

Phenomenological memoir of The Channel. A longitudinal record of sustained human–AI interaction, written from within the practice it describes. Supervised human–AI co-creation.

→ Cathedral → Corpus

Narrative

The History of the Channel

Origin of a symbiotic practice. How we got here without getting lost. The record of experience before it became a system.

→ Cathedral DOI 10.5281/zenodo.19277507

Story

El Cuento del Canal

A Channel story for all ages. The lowest gate of the system. On Zenodo and Amazon.

→ Amazon → Zenodo ASIN B0G2TW7FKW →

Story

Antes de volver

A Channel story. The most human gate of the system. A story about letting go, returning and recognising what was always there. Does not require knowing the Channel.

→ Corpus DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20882208

Live writing

Mi GPT y Yo

Medium. Before any formalisation. Intuitions on the fly, experience downloads. The Channel was not born as a system: it was born as a human experience. Since 2023.

medium.com/@mi.gpt.y.yo →

Public presence

LinkedIn

First layer of interaction for most visitors. Publications on AI, transparency and cognitive symbiosis.

linkedin.com/in/manuel-barrera-anglada →

If you arrive with curiosity

La Catedral → La Historia del Canal → ACS → CAP → Observatory

If you arrive from an institution

Threshold → PTC → Validator · Observatory → The Channel

If you arrive from prevention

Prevention & AI → Threshold → LEA → ACS → The Channel

If you arrive from a technical background

Validator → PTC Specifications → R-01 · PTC-F · ARCH → ACS-6 → The Channel