The System Inside the System
6 days ago
- #cybernetics
- #ruby
- #AI-agents
- The author discusses the realization of building a primitive feedback loop system at Sublayer, akin to a nervous system without organs, after reading about cybernetics and Stafford Beer's Viable System Model (VSM).
- Beer's VSM is highlighted as a recursive, fractal-like structure for viable systems, applicable to organizational theory and software architecture, emphasizing self-regulation and adaptation.
- Ruby's dynamic runtime capabilities are praised for enabling self-modifying systems, suggesting its potential for building advanced AI agents that can write their own capabilities.
- The author reflects on the transformative impact of Rails on web development, drawing parallels to the current state of AI agent development, which is seen as overly complex and plumbing-heavy.
- The missing components in their initial agent system are identified as a lack of a comprehensive nervous system, including identity, intelligence, governance, coordination, and operations.
- Two projects are introduced: 'vsm', a Ruby gem implementing Beer's VSM for AI agents, and 'airb', a CLI coding agent built on VSM, both aimed at enabling recursive, self-organizing systems.
- The author speculates on the future of AI agents, suggesting that Ruby's metaprogramming and dynamic nature might be key to developing systems capable of self-modification and organization.
- The conclusion ponders whether VSM is the right abstraction for simplifying AI agent development, acknowledging the experimental nature of their approach but highlighting the potential for structured, self-improving systems.