Start Here — The single front door to SIL
Navigation: This is the single front door to SIL.
- FAQ — Common questions answered
- Glossary — Terms and definitions
What is SIL?
SIL is a Semantic Operating System — a new substrate for meaning, memory, and structured reasoning.
Just as UNIX provided an operating system for computation, SIL provides an operating system for semantics: a stable foundation where representations are explicit, transformations are traceable, and reasoning is inspectable.
Why Does SIL Exist?
Today's AI systems are powerful but structurally incomplete.
They lack:
- Stable semantic structure — meaning drifts, representations are opaque
- Provenance — you can't trace how conclusions were reached
- Deterministic reasoning — the same input produces different outputs
- Cross-domain coherence — every domain builds its own isolated infrastructure
SIL builds the missing layer: semantic infrastructure that makes meaning explicit, transformations auditable, and reasoning reliable.
What Has SIL Built?
SIL is not a vision document. It's working infrastructure:
Core Architecture
- 7-Layer Semantic OS — From semantic memory through agent orchestration
- Pantheon IR — Universal typed semantic IR (Intermediate Representation)
- GenesisGraph — Cryptographically verifiable provenance with selective disclosure
- Morphogen — Cross-domain unified primitives (40+ computational domains)
Production Tools
- Reveal (v0.18.0) — Progressive disclosure for code structure & Python runtime inspection
pip install reveal-cli- 86% token reduction for agent workflows
- New:
python://adapter for runtime environment analysis -
AST-based (Abstract Syntax Tree), correct, composable
-
Agent Help Standard — Strategic guidance for AI agents using CLI tools
- Philbrick — Modular analog/digital hybrid computing substrate
Philosophical Foundation
- Technical Charter — Formal invariants and guarantees
- Principles — 14 foundational constraints (structure before heuristics, provenance everywhere, meaning must be explicit)
- Manifesto — Why semantic infrastructure matters
What Makes SIL Different?
Most AI labs build applications on top of opaque models.
SIL builds the semantic substrate beneath them.
This is the difference between:
- Building apps in the 1960s
- Building the OS, file system, and memory model that every future app relies on
Core Commitments
Structure Before Heuristics
SIL prioritizes explicit structure over statistical inference. Structure decides, heuristics only propose.
Provenance Everywhere
Every transformation produces a provenance record. No silent changes.
Determinism When Promised
If an operation claims to be deterministic, the system ensures it.
Meaning Must Be Explicit
Every meaningful object must be represented as a typed, inspectable semantic structure.
Long-Lived Artifacts
SIL builds infrastructure meant to last decades, not chase quarterly trends.
Where to Go Next
For the Story
Founder's Letter — Why SIL was built, the vision, and what we're inviting you to help build
For the Personal Vision
Founder Background — Working systems, production metrics, and track record
Influences & Acknowledgments — The thinkers and traditions that shaped SIL
For the Philosophy
Manifesto — The philosophical foundation
Principles — 14 foundational constraints that define SIL
For the Technical Depth
Technical Charter — Formal specification with invariants and guarantees
Semantic OS Architecture — 7-layer architecture from memory to interfaces
For the Tools
Reveal — Code structure navigation
Agent Help Standard — Strategic guidance for agents
GenesisGraph — Verifiable provenance
Morphogen — Unified computational substrate
For Collaborators
FAQ — Common questions answered
GitHub — How to join us
The Bell Labs of AI
SIL stands in the lineage of foundational systems work — not building products, but building the substrate that makes future systems possible.
Built by one person over two years, inspired by:
- Alan Turing — computation, emergence, morphogenesis
- K&R + UNIX — clarity, composability, simplicity as power
This is infrastructure work. Long-term work. Work that matters.
If this resonates with you — welcome.
Semantic Infrastructure Lab
Building the semantic substrate for the next generation of human-machine reasoning.