First draft: The AI-First Software Development (AIFSD) Manifesto

First draft below. Help me iterate @ https://github.com/tembo-io/aifsd

The adoption of AI-assisted coding has dramatically increased development velocity, with teams reporting 10x more pull requests. This shift has forced organizations to rethink their development workflows, particularly around code review and merge processes. While generating initial code has become significantly easier, the challenge now lies in efficiently moving code from PR to production.

1. Let AI write the first attempt

Think a little, and get the ball rolling. Be specific about what you want. Vague prompts get vague code. But don't overthink it — ready, fire, aim.

2. When chat gets tedious, take the wheel

If you're copy-pasting code blocks for the fifth time, stop. Pull the branch, commit directly.

3. You own the merge, period

AI is your intern, not your boss. You're responsible for what ships — act like it.

4. Tag team like pros

AI writes scaffolding, you handle the gnarly bits. AI refactors, you write integration tests. Back and forth.

5. Speed > perfection (on iteration zero)

Get something working first. It's easier to reason about a solution with concrete code. AI excels at "make it work", you excel at "make it right."

6. Leverage async workflows

Automate bug reports, and error + other alerts to generate PRs. If the AI has to wait for you to initiate, or your laptop must stay open for work to continue, you're a bottleneck.

7. Commit early, commit often — both of you

Small commits from AI, small commits from you. Git history should tell a story, not be a novel.

8. Testing is still your job, not optional

It's easier than ever to have test suites—AI can draft tests well. But you need to decide what actually needs testing, and why. With this principle alone, your software quality can go way up… without costing you much, if any, time.

9. Review everything like it came from a junior dev

Because it did. AI writes confident code that might be confidently wrong.

10. The human always has the last word

When in doubt, your judgment wins. AI suggests, you decide.