Code is a means to an end
AI has effectively commoditized code generation, but is more code always a good thing? We're not so sure.
Ultimately, code serves as a translation layer below a broader software service contract.
For example, while a service contract may ask:
- what interfaces / APIs are exposed?
- what constraints are you operating under (SLAs / SLOs)?
- what kind of data gets stored, and why?
code would answer with implementation details:
- we're using Python 3.11 with Flask for the API service
- we route queries through Redis as a cache to hit our performance constraints
- we store logs in our database for 2 years to meet our data audit needs
The contract above is the outcome that you care about, whereas the code is what you end up maintaining.
Maintaining software is the final boss
Keeping software running, up to date, secure, and reliable can account for up to 80% of a piece of software's lifetime cost.
This has been the largest motivator for managed software services, a behemoth industry built around the premise of delivering software services - products accessible by you, but kept alive by another.
There are currently two options:
- One-size-fits-all software that you can buy off the shelf: this forces users to fit their unique workflows to the software's structure, stomach feature bloat and work around rigidity.
- Tailor-made software: engineer-built, continuously tuned to users' specific needs and workflows, but with a maintenance price tag associated with it.
With the former, you're locked into the software demands of a vendor's average customer, not yours. The latter, however, is a luxury because tailors (engineers) are in short supply.
And today, while we're able to build a whole lot more software with coding agents, we're still left on the hook to maintain it.
The Goal specification
At Telos, we think that advancements in AI unlock a third possibility for software: tailor-made to your needs, but simple to use and operate like a managed service.
To enable this, we're building a higher-level abstraction layer for software, and a new way to program that decouples disposable implementation from durable intent: goal-oriented software engineering.
The Goal specification is yours to review and evolve: a living artifact where you describe your desired interface, features and constraints. Underneath, Telos manages the entire software lifecycle - operating a software service and reconciling it against the spec.
If you want to change the service, you edit the spec and watch the system update. The code is an implementation detail you don't have to look at, giving you the freedom to own custom software, without the associated maintenance burden.
As agentic systems become reliable over long horizons, the role of humans in software moves front and center to the harder problem: deciding precisely what to build.
Join us
Telos is a Public Benefit Corporation with the following mission statement embedded in the charter:
To democratize access to bespoke software services for individuals and organizations worldwide.
We're a small team of engineers who have lived through the problems above. If this mission resonates with you, shoot us a note at [email protected].