Why AI Projects Need a Behavior Contract Before Any Code Is Written

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Software engineer Derek Wang argues that AI-driven projects require a foundational 'constitution' — a strategy charter that defines the system's identity, boundaries, and human-AI collaboration rules before any work begins. Unlike code conventions, which govern the artifact, this behavior contract shapes how the AI checks, verifies, and handles mistakes. Wang outlines ten model-agnostic rules for his own projects, covering principles such as reading before writing, making minimal edits, and replacing tools after repeated failures. He warns that without such a charter loaded upfront, an AI model is effectively improvising without guardrails, and no downstream prompting can compensate. The approach treats the constitution not as documentation but as a binding contract every participant — human or AI — must internalize at the start.

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