Ryan McKenna's background

Leadership & Technical Background

  • CEO of New Entity Operations™ (2013–2026)
  • Pioneering local-first AI technologies focused on user autonomy
  • Architected and developed scalable infrastructure using Python, Shell, Node.js, and PostgreSQL
  • Unified fragmented systems into a cohesive local-first platform used across multiple environments
  • Led R&D across Pennsylvania and California working within early-stage programs at both Microsoft and NVIDIA
  • Engineered GPU acceleration layers compatible with both AMD and NVIDIA architectures
  • Applied systems architecture experience in Silicon Valley on early-stage AI and platform tooling

Featured Projects

EntityScript™ (2019-)

Building intelligent automation systems has been a mystery to much of the general public, even before the early days of LLMs. Before many of these technologies hit the public mindspace, I designed EntityScript™ for a future that was coming soon. As a file-format, it helps manage the massive amount of scoped-data required to assemble a world-class "model". It's light-weight, user-defined, and it can represent any type of real-world computing scenario by design. I released EntityScript™ as a formal standards draft in 2020 as it became clear to me that this type of "glue" would be required in the future and that many large corporations would try to control that future. I thought having an open-standard way to build these systems would prevent centralized control in the data-assembly pipeline required to "build an AI".

With the rise of libraries like transformers, pytorch, and similar default standards, EntityScript™ acts as a glue between large-scale systems producing generative output and a variety of applications were built showcasing this potential. The goal from the beginning was to let people build their own AI using local-first automation systems instead of having to rely on centralized AI providers. That is even more true today as EntityScript™ has continued refining applications built around the format.

The extensible and communication-based nature of the sharing the format amongst peer-groups works well for sharing and assembling complex data-graphs within entity-based systems - much of which can be used to build custom AI-systems.

Personal data lookups, system audits, and orchestration are all available through various EntityScript™ extensions. A variety of EntityScript™ automation contexts were also authored by me that go beyond the file-format itself. Those contextual extensions were compiled into a working full-service fabric that make up the current foundation to New Entity OS™.

New Entity AI™ (2022-)

A portable, local-first AI environment built on EntityScript™ with the MAINTAINME shell interface for secure, offline-first orchestration of foundation models.

Exstellius™ (2025-)

A performance alias I've used for a live electronic act. I perform on Pioneer mixers and club-standard CDJs, blending original tracks with high-energy trance and techno. New releases and live shows beginning in October 2025, but there is no guarentee I won't switch up stage names for the sake of remaining somewhat anonymous.

Ryan McKenna Photography: The Apprentice Collection (2005-)

After years of experimentation behind the lens, I’ve developed a deep visual practice focused on atmosphere and detail. The Apprentice Collection marked the start of that journey, a study in learning to see the world as it was, one frame at a time. More recent collections are starting to be featured in the Photos section.

Over fifteen years of design, experimentation, and endurance have led to a unified creative and technical ecosystem. The groundwork is finished. Now it’s time to scale, share, and build what comes next.

Curious how I work? Explore my skills or read my personal statement.