What's the point in trying to make a safe, non-tracking, curated ad network when you will just be blocked by everyone anyway?
All adblockers do its turn the game into a race to the bottom. Whoever can get the most invasive ads past the most blockers is the winner. Any company that isn't willing to play dirty will be left behind.
Content creators won't push for the good guys because they need money, ad networks are between a rock and a hard-place, and users will say they want "nice" ad networks while simultaneously blocking all ads regardless of where they come from (and will fight against things like the "allow acceptable ads" checkbox in adblock)
Now that Apple have taken it more mainstream it's going to be interesting to watch what happens.
But you might be right, sadly. More of the same and worse...
It's a race to the bottom now boys, and the most invasive ad companies are going to win!
