# AI-Augmented Software Development Manifesto > [!quote] > "Simplicity is the art of refusing generated complexity." Ronan Berder's one-page manifesto rewrites the 2001 Agile Manifesto for a world where code generation is cheap. Same structure: four "X over Y" value pairs, a "while there is value in the items on the right" clause, then twelve principles. Source repo is hunvreus/ai-manifesto on GitHub. Page carries no date. ## Four values - **Human agency and taste** over agentic autopilot - **Tight human feedback loops** over long unattended agent runs - **Reliable, tested software** over abundant AI output - **Clear, adaptable intent** over rigid specs or vibe-coding ## Twelve principles 1. Ship real software, not AI theater. "LOC count, agent swarms, and token burn are not progress unless users get something reliable." 2. Let requirements harden from evidence. Use AI to discuss, prototype, and test assumptions before locking the plan. 3. Treat code as cheap and understanding as expensive. Deliver increments quickly, throw away bad first passes, rewrite and refactor aggressively. 4. Keep humans and AI in a tight loop. AI generates options; humans supply taste, domain judgment, trade-offs, and the ability to say no. 5. Build around people with taste and ownership. They set boundaries, trust AI to execute within them, and have the standards to redo, undo, or throw away the result. 6. Prefer dialogue over prompt bloat and rigid process. Talk through the problem, agree on direction, then write down only what needs to persist. 7. Reliable, tested software is the measure of progress. 8. Sustainable pace is non-negotiable. 9. Technical excellence matters more when generation is cheap. 10. Simplicity is the art of refusing generated complexity. 11. Good systems emerge from iteration and pruning. 12. Use AI to amplify agency, not replace it. ## What it borrows and what it changes Principles 7, 8, 9, and 11 are near-verbatim Agile ("working software is the primary measure of progress," "sustainable development," "continuous attention to technical excellence," "self-organizing teams"). The changes are where the argument lives: - Agile's "individuals and interactions over processes and tools" becomes "human agency and taste over agentic autopilot." The threat is no longer heavyweight process, it's unattended automation. - Agile's "working software over comprehensive documentation" becomes "reliable, tested software over abundant AI output." Volume replaced documentation as the false signal. - "Responding to change over following a plan" becomes "clear, adaptable intent over rigid specs or vibe-coding." Both extremes are named as failure modes, which is the same move Pantheon's quadrant makes. - Principle 3 inverts the old economics: code was expensive and understanding was assumed; now code is cheap and understanding is the scarce thing. ## My read - **Principle 6 is my working practice.** "Write down only what needs to persist" is the rule behind my CLAUDE.md pruning and the "date every behavior-correcting rule" lesson. It argues against prompt bloat from the same place [[3. Resources/Permanent Notes/Prompt Rules Decay With Model Versions Date Every Never]] does. - **Principle 1 and Pantheon agree.** Both documents reject lines of code and tokens as progress metrics within a few sentences. That's now two independent sources, one a vendor and one a practitioner. - **"Taste" carries a lot of weight and isn't defined.** Values 1 and principle 5 both rest on it. A useful follow-up is what taste looks like as an observable behavior in code review, since a manifesto can't be adopted on a word nobody can check. - **Missing: the team.** Every principle is a lone practitioner plus an agent. Pantheon's memo makes the opposite point, that "single player" is the current gap. The two are complementary, not competing. ## Related - [[The AI Realist Manifesto - Beyond the Vibe]] - [[AI & the Future of Knowledge Work MOC]] - [[3. Resources/Permanent Notes/Where a Human Stands in an AI Pipeline Decides Judgment or Volume]] - [[3. Resources/Permanent Notes/Prompt Rules Decay With Model Versions Date Every Never]]