Provenance Is the New Version Control (aicoding.leaflet.pub)

Recent discussions in the AI/ML community have highlighted a paradigm shift in version control, emphasizing the need to focus on the underlying intent behind code changes instead of the code itself. As AI systems become capable of regenerating code based on specified requirements, traditional version control methods, which rely on code diffs as proxies for human decisions, are increasingly seen as inadequate. This evolution underscores that the real record of a system’s evolution lies in its specifications—requirements, constraints, and decisions—rather than in textual code edits. In this new "regenerable" approach, specifications become executable inputs that drive code generation. A content-addressed graph structure will replace conventional documents, linking specific requirements to causal nodes that detail how and why design choices were made. This shift enables developers to track changes through intent rather than through their code artifacts, providing a clearer understanding of the reasons behind modifications. Ultimately, the focus moves from versioning text to versioning intent, prompting developers to consider what information is genuinely valuable to preserve in a rapidly evolving software landscape. This transformation has significant implications, as it demands new tools and methodologies that can effectively capture and maintain the evolving relationships between intent and implementation.