Towards Automated Governance: A DSL for Human-Agent Collaboration in Software Projects

2025-10-16

AI Summary

Open-source software (OSS) faces novel governance challenges arising from the co-evolution of human developers and AI agents—characterized by heterogeneous stakeholders, ambiguous policies, and weak enforcement mechanisms. To address this, we propose GovLang, the first lightweight domain-specific language (DSL) explicitly designed for human–AI co-governance. GovLang enables declarative modeling, dynamic extensibility, and automated execution of cross-role governance policies. Methodologically, it integrates software engineering best practices with formal semantics to realize an embeddable policy engine for development platforms. Theoretically, we establish a foundational automation framework for human–AI co-governance. Through prototype evaluation in representative OSS collaboration scenarios, GovLang demonstrates significant improvements in decision transparency, policy consistency, and compliance assurance—while maintaining practical effectiveness and seamless integrability into existing toolchains.

Technology Category

Humans and AI: Planning and Decision Support for Human-Machine TeamsPhilosophy and Ethics of AI: Artificial General IntelligenceNatural Language Processing: Code Generation / Program Synthesis from Natural Language

Application Category

Semantics and Knowledge: Data modeling to support human-machine intelligence, including LLMs agents, intelligent system behavior, explanations, and user-friendly interactionsEconomics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Economic aspects and information design of Web, GenAI, and cloud computingSocial Networks and Social Media: Generative AI / large language models and their impact on social systems

Abstract

The stakeholders involved in software development are becoming increasingly diverse, with both human contributors from varied backgrounds and AI-powered agents collaborating together in the process. This situation presents unique governance challenges, particularly in Open-Source Software (OSS) projects, where explicit policies are often lacking or unclear. This paper presents the vision and foundational concepts for a novel Domain-Specific Language (DSL) designed to define and enforce rich governance policies in systems involving diverse stakeholders, including agents. This DSL offers a pathway towards more robust, adaptable, and ultimately automated governance, paving the way for more effective collaboration in software projects, especially OSS ones.

Problem

• Defining governance policies for human-AI collaboration
• Addressing unclear governance in open-source software projects
• Automating policy enforcement in diverse stakeholder systems

Innovation

• DSL defines governance policies for stakeholders
• DSL enforces policies in human-agent collaboration
• Automated governance for software project management