The Pipeline Is Dead - Iris ten Teije, Sky Valley Ambient Computing
Jul 7, 2026 · 19:50
Iris ten Teije, co-founder of Differ, argues that the traditional software pipeline—built on one frozen artifact for everyone—is dying because producing code changes has become nearly free. This shift enables per-user adaptive software: instead of one codebase shipped to all, a canonical stem plus bounded, isolated, and reversible divergences adapt live per user. She explains how this dissolves the line between development and distribution, using examples like a CRM that learns an investor’s intro paths and skips unused fields. Key challenges include provenance (every divergence must be attributable and inspectable), correctness testing at scale, desirability measurement, and coordination—not merging code but merging intent and outcome. The hard part isn’t AI-generated code; it’s the observability, validation, and isolation that make per-user versions safe rather than terrifying.
