← Madhusuthanan B

The Substrate Manifesto

A manifesto for AI-native engineering

Seven lines on building the layers below the product, for the systems people and AI agents both depend on.

substrate (n.): the layer everything else is built on.

  1. 01

    Design for people and agents.

    Every system now has two kinds of users.
  2. 02

    Behaviour first.

    Start from the behaviour you expect, then write the code.
  3. 03

    Build the layer, not the feature.

    A good layer keeps paying off for every team that builds on it.
  4. 04

    AI for speed, people for judgement.

    AI moves fast on the rest; architecture, quality and correctness stay with people.
  5. 05

    Craft over output.

    When AI makes code cheap, knowing what good looks like, and caring enough to get there, is what's left to compete on.
  6. 06

    Ship small, ship often.

    Small, frequent releases are easier to trust and easier to fix.
  7. 07

    Own it in production.

    Building it is the start; running it is the job.

Written by (@thecompiledmind), Senior Staff Engineer at Falkor.