Founder, Semantic Infrastructure Lab (SIL)
Systems-Oriented Builder | Four Decades Infrastructure Work
Why I'm Building This
I build semantic infrastructure because it's meaningful work. For four decades, I've focused on making complexity inspectable and helping others through infrastructure—from early published work to distributed systems research to helping organizations understand their data to now building the semantic substrate that intelligent systems lack.
This work comes from interest and skill alignment. I'm a systems-oriented builder working on semantic infrastructure because it helps people understand, create, and discover.
The Through-Line: Four Decades of Infrastructure
Not separate careers. One consistent focus:
Early Work (1980s)
Started young with published work explaining programming techniques—making methods visible to help other developers learn.
Pattern starts: Infrastructure that enables others.
Microsoft Research & Engineering (1994-2010)
I spent 16 years at Microsoft as part of teams working on distributed systems and high-stakes engineering.
Distributed Systems Research:
I was part of a team exploring peer-to-peer infrastructure with cryptographic identity (2001-2003, before Bitcoin). We worked on problems of distributed routing, stable naming, and decentralized trust—foundational questions that inform Knowledge Mesh and the trust layer in the Semantic OS today.
Engineering at Scale:
I contributed to release engineering on systems serving hundreds of millions of devices. High-stakes work where one mistake becomes headlines. I learned what it means to ship reliably under pressure—the kind of pressure that requires inspectable infrastructure.
Even in operational roles, I built tools for others:
Created analysis tools that let researchers inspect dangerous systems safely. Made complexity visible even under extreme constraints.
The connection to SIL:
Same principle: make meaning explicit, make reasoning traceable, inspection without danger. Built tools for researchers then; building semantic infrastructure for inspectable intelligence now.
On the July 2024 CrowdStrike incident:
When a software update crashed millions of systems, I understood the pressure those teams felt. I've lived that stress. This isn't about judging—it's about recognizing that even world-class teams need better infrastructure. High-stakes systems need inspectable substrate. That's what SIL is building.
Tiny Lizard (2010-2020)
Business intelligence consulting—this was solo work. I helped dozens of organizations transform data into understandable, actionable insights.
The philosophy:
- Make data actionable, not overwhelming
- "Crushing the nouns": reports should drive action (verbs), not just present information
- Wrote 50+ posts helping people understand modeling and DAX
- Active in the BI community answering hundreds of forum questions
Same principle as SIL: actionability, not just representation. Make systems that help people act.
Semantic Infrastructure Lab (2020-present)
Building the semantic substrate intelligent systems lack.
From the SIL Manifesto:
"SIL builds the semantic substrate that current AI systems lack: persistent semantic memory, a unified intermediate representation, structured domain modules, reproducible orchestration, deterministic engines, and human interfaces for inspectable reasoning."
The Semantic Operating System (6 layers):
- Layer 0: Semantic Memory (persistent, interpretable, provenance-complete)
- Layer 1: USIR (Universal Semantic Intermediate Representation)
- Layer 2: Domain Modules (CAD, simulation, code, scientific modeling)
- Layer 3: Multi-Agent Orchestration (deterministic, inspectable)
- Layer 4: Deterministic Engines (symbolic, numeric, simulation, search)
- Layer 5: Human Interfaces (visualization, reasoning inspection)
Working systems (not vaporware):
- USIR (intermediate representation unifying symbolic, numeric, geometric structures)
- Morphogen (multi-domain simulation engine, 900+ tests)
- Knowledge Mesh (distributed semantic routing)
- TIA (semantic search, 12K+ files indexed)
- Reveal (semantic code exploration, published to PyPI)
Design principles (from manifesto):
- Interpretability as first-class property
- Provenance everywhere
- Reproducible workflows
- Systems over ad hoc hacks
- Cross-domain unification via USIR
Why this matters:
Contemporary AI systems are powerful but structurally incomplete. They lack explicit meaning, inspectable reasoning, stable memory, provenance. SIL exists to build the missing layer.
Why I Founded SIL
Four decades of pattern recognition: I've watched how distributed systems, data infrastructure, and semantic representation connect. Held these threads long enough to see how they unify. USIR is the synthesis of that work.
Experience with high-stakes systems: I've worked on systems where failure becomes headlines. That experience informs SIL's commitment to inspectable, traceable, reproducible infrastructure.
Consistent focus on infrastructure: I've built tools for others (analysis tools), methods for others (BI education), substrate for others (Semantic OS). Infrastructure that enables, not applications that constrain.
Team-oriented: Most meaningful work happens in teams. SIL is designed from the start as collaborative work with researchers, engineers, and contributors.
Working systems: Code that ships—early published work, systems at Microsoft, dozens of organizations with Tiny Lizard, now TIA/Reveal/Morphogen with tests and users.
The Real Statement
From the manifesto:
"We make meaning explicit. We make reasoning traceable. We build structures that last. That is the work."
From four decades:
- Made techniques explicit (early published work)
- Made dangerous systems inspectable (research tools)
- Made data traceable (BI infrastructure)
- Made code navigable (Reveal)
- Making intelligence inspectable (SIL Semantic OS)
Same work. Increasing scale. Consistent principles.
That's the founder. That's the lab. That's the work.
Related Reading
If you want to understand the architecture:
- Semantic OS Architecture - The 6-layer stack explained
- Unified Architecture Guide - How all projects connect
If you want deeper philosophy:
- Manifesto - Core vision and principles
- Founder's Letter - Why SIL exists
If you want to see working systems:
- Project Index - All 11 projects with status
- Tools Documentation - Production systems you can use today