Seven essays on how humans and AI can build meaning together
Introduction
The rise of AI-assisted coding has changed everything — and yet, our methods haven’t caught up.
Autocomplete turned into code generation, code generation into system design, and before long we found ourselves surrounded by software that writes software.
But who, then, preserves meaning? Who ensures that what AI produces still reflects human intent, ethics, and vision?
That question gave birth to a new discipline: Software Curatorship — the art and method of guiding AI-driven development so that systems remain coherent, transparent, and aligned with purpose.
Over the past months, I explored this idea through a series of essays on Medium. Below is a summary of that series, tracing the evolution from philosophy to methodology.
1. Prometaphysics: Where AI Meets the Edge of Consciousness
A philosophical reflection on collaboration between minds — human and synthetic — and how creative intelligence might evolve beyond pure utility.
2. Coding in the Age of AI: What No One’s Telling You
How automation changed the meaning of “software development.”
The essay introduces the concept of the curator — the human responsible for intent and coherence in AI-assisted creation.
3. The Making of a Software Curator
From developer to curator: redefining authorship, responsibility, and skill in the era of generative code.
4. Coding vs. Curating: What Sets Curators Apart from Vibe Coders
A practical distinction between “vibe coding” — letting AI generate code without direction — and true Curatorship, where the human provides architecture, intent, and moral compass.
5. Software Curatorship in Practice
Part 1 – The Method Behind Meaning
Part 2 – The Curatorial Loop
Part 3 – The Human at the Center
These three final chapters ground the philosophy in method.
They describe the Curatorial Loop — a continuous cycle of intent, generation, review, and reflection — and introduce the Curation Stack, a layered system where code, documentation, and rationale evolve together.
Why This Matters
Software Curatorship isn’t a metaphor. It’s a working methodology for aligning AI development with human purpose — one that integrates version control, documentation, testing, and reflection into a single living process.
It reimagines the developer’s role as a philosophical engineer: someone who maintains semantic coherence and ethical integrity while machines handle execution.
The Road Ahead
The goal of Software Curatorship is not to slow down automation — it’s to give it direction.
As AI systems become more capable, we’ll need curators to preserve the dialogue between what we build and why we build it.
I’m currently preparing the Software Curator’s Handbook, an open project that will document practical tools, YAML schemas, and examples for Curatorial development.
Follow me here or on Medium if you’d like to join the discussion.
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