From Pyramids to Programs: What Ancient Egypt Teaches Us About Building Great AI Systems

By: Alireza Minagar, MD, MBA, MS
Software engineer
As a neurologist, software engineer, and AI ethicist, I’ve come to realize that some of the deepest insights in our field don’t come from new tools or libraries —
but from enduring principles that have been with us for millennia.

In this article, I pose a timeless question:

What can we, as modern technologists, learn from the ancient builders of the Egyptian pyramids?
What You’ll Discover

You might be surprised how deeply the architectural mindset of ancient Egypt — forged in the sands of time — still resonates in today’s world of:

System design

Human coordination

Ethical foresight

These themes echo not only through ancient stone, but also through the codebases, AI models, and cloud infrastructure we build today.

Highlights from the Article

The Pyramids as the Original Distributed Systems
Ancient engineers managed massive parallel teams, workflows, and logistics — all without digital tools. Their achievements reveal foundational principles that apply to how we manage complexity today.

Codebases as Stonework
The way the pyramids were structured reminds us of the importance of sustainable, scalable software architecture. Shortcuts in foundation lead to collapse — whether in stone or in code.

Neural Networks as Digital Pyramids
Neural networks, with their layered architecture and abstracted intelligence, mirror the structure of pyramids — from broad foundations to apex outputs. But unlike stone, AI evolves — which means it must be carefully guided.
**
AI Ethics Through a Timeless Lens**
True engineering doesn’t just solve problems — it asks why we’re solving them, and for whom. The ethics of AI design must consider the long-term implications of our systems.

Read the Full Article on Medium

You can access the full article at the following link:
https://medium.com/@aminagar_38889/🧱-from-pyramids-to-programs-what-ancient-egypt-teaches-us-about-building-great-ai-systems-f37a832412e2

Join the Conversation

I invite fellow developers, data scientists, software architects, and AI ethicists to reflect on the following:

How do you incorporate long-term thinking in your software or AI system designs?

Have you ever drawn inspiration from ancient systems, history, or philosophy in your technical work?

Let’s work together to build technology that doesn’t just scale — but endures.

Relevant Topics and Tags

AI, Software Engineering, Ethical AI, Architecture, Machine Learning, Tech Philosophy, Digital Futures, Egyptian Engineering, Leadership, Alireza Minagar

Final Thought

History doesn’t just remember the code we write — it remembers what we chose to build and why. Let’s build something worth remembering.