Thesis: The autonomous enterprise can be modeled as a living system where Miller’s 20 subsystems are distributed across four distinct planes: Infrastructure (Container), Machines & Agents (Transformer), Artifacts (Object), and Meta-Artifacts (Instruction).

Plane 1: Infrastructure

Definition: The static or passive components that provide residence (Storage), transportation (Channel), and protection (Boundary). LST Subsystems:

  • 2. Boundary: Protects system integrity (Firewalls, Walls).
  • 3. Ingestor: Entry points for matter/energy (API Gateway, Loading Dock).
  • 4. Distributor: Internal transport routes (VPC Peering, Hallways).
  • 7. Matter-Energy Storage: Reservoirs for holding resources (Bank Accounts, Warehouses).
  • 8. Extruder: Exit points for products/waste (CI/CD Deploy Pipeline).
  • 10. Supporter: Physical/Digital scaffolding (Office Building, Cloud Platform).
  • 13. Channel and Net: Route for info transmission (Slack, Fiber).
  • 17. Memory (Storage Component): The physical medium of record (Databases).

COBO Mappings

  • Physical: HQ Office (Supporter), Warehouses (Storage).
  • Hybrid: Data Centers (Supporter), Network Switches (Distributor).
  • Software:
    • Finance Rail: Bank Accounts (Storage), ERP Ledger (Memory).
    • Data Rail: Snowflake/S3 (Storage), Kafka Topics (Channel).
    • Product Rail: GitHub Repos (Memory), AWS VPC (Distributor), Deploy Pipelines (Extruder).
    • Security: WAF/Firewalls (Boundary), IdP/Auth0 (Boundary).

Plane 2: Machines & Agents

Definition: The active processors (Transformers) that manipulate artifacts based on meta-artifacts. LST Subsystems:

  • 1. Reproducer: Creates new systems/agents (Founder, HR).
  • 5. Converter: Prepares inputs for use (Onboarding Bot, ETL Job).
  • 6. Producer: Synthesizes new artifacts (Engineer, Builder).
  • 9. Motor: Moves the system in environment (Sales/Growth Agent).
  • 11. Input Transducer: Senses external environment (Market Researcher).
  • 12. Internal Transducer: Senses internal state (SRE Watchdog, Pulse Survey).
  • 14. Timer: Coordinates timing (Scheduler, Cron, PM).
  • 15. Decoder: Translates input to system code (Parser, Spec Writer).
  • 16. Associator: Learns and correlates (AI Model Trainer, Strategist).
  • 18. Decider: Executive control (CEO, Algorithm).
  • 19. Encoder: Translates system code to output (UI Renderer, Marketer).
  • 20. Output Transducer: Projects output to environment (PR Agent, Sales Bot).

COBO Mappings

  • Machines (Deterministic):
    • Automata: CI/CD Runners (Producer), Linters (Decoder), Cron Jobs (Timer).
    • Processors: Payroll Batch (Converter), Static Analysis (Internal Transducer).
  • Agents (Adaptive):
    • Executive: Strategic Planner (Associator), Budget Allocator (Decider).
    • Engineering: Architect (Decider), Coder (Producer), SRE (Internal Transducer).
    • Commercial: SDR (Motor), Account Executive (Output Transducer), Content Marketer (Encoder).
    • Ops: Recruiter (Reproducer), Support Agent (Converter).

Plane 3: Artifacts & Resources

Definition: The passive flows of Matter, Energy, and Information that are manipulated by the system. LST Correlates:

  • Matter: Biomass, Hardware.
  • Energy: Capital, Electricity.
  • Information Markers: Data, Signals, Tokens.

COBO Mappings

  • Raw Inputs:
    • Capital: Cash, Credit ($).
    • Data: Raw Logs, User Clickstreams.
    • Talent: Candidates (Potential matter).
  • Intermediate:
    • Drafts: Wireframes, PRDs, Unmerged Code.
    • Leads: MQLs, Opportunities.
  • Finished Outputs:
    • Product: Binaries, Release Notes.
    • Financial: GAAP Reports, Paychecks.
    • Legal: Signed Contracts.

Plane 4: Meta-Artifacts

Definition: The conceptual patterns, rule sets, and blueprints that guide the Agents. LST Correlates:

  • Genetic Information: The “Template” or “Charter” used by the Reproducer.
  • Decider Rules: The values and logic governing the Decider.

COBO Mappings

  • Technical Blueprints:
    • Code: Source Code (The DNA of the Product).
    • Infra: Terraform/Helm Charts.
    • Specs: API Schemas (OpenAPI), Database Models.
  • Procedural Knowledge:
    • SOPs: Standard Operating Procedures.
    • Prompts: System Prompts for AI Agents.
    • Playbooks: Incident Response Guides.
  • Governance:
    • Policy: Corporate Policies, Ethics Guidelines.
    • Strategy: Mission, Vision, OKRs.