Iterating with AI

I’m trying out a slightly revamped process for working with AI. It’s an extension of the “work from files” system, but the focus is on making a workflow that the AI can run entirely on its own while also making every step able to be edited and iterated upon by the human handler.

There are four main things that one needs.

• Spec: A specification for each type of element you need to produce. Describes how to produce the source files.
• Source: Sources that follow the spec, representing each element. JSON, Markdown, YAML, SVG. As long as it is text.
• Artifact: Output files that the sources are transformed into. This could be something like a PNG, or a PDF. Every artifact needs to be ultimately specified by a source.
• Tool: Human-usable apps or AI-centric scripts for creating source files and generating output artifacts from those files. Apps and script must produce identical results (using the same source to produce an identical artifact).

The human has a workflow for generating a final product from various sources and artifacts. The AI can run every step on their own, and they generate source files along the way. This means the process can be iterative. Either the human operator or the AI can revise those files and regenerate the assets.

An example
Right now I’m working on an idea for a daily RPG quest for single players. For that I need a hex map, and for the hex map I need assets: hex tiles, objects, buildings, and creatures. So I had Claude make a map editor, a hex tile editor, and an SVG editor for creatures. Maps are JSON files that reference hex tile assets. Those assets are hard coded, but those assets can be reconstructed with the hex tile editor using the JSON source files. So the entire map base can be made from a set of JSON files.

If I can do something similar for buildings, and objects, the AI can conceivable run the entire pipeline itself while leaving each asset editable by me. I could prompt it to generate a quest where the player has to protect a castle from a dragon, and the AI could run the entire pipeline itself. But more likely, I would be working with the AI throughout the process.

Here are some screen shots from my editors.

Map editor

Tile editor (water tile)

SVG editor (my drawing of a dead frog)