Vague Advice Is The First Thing To Go
Context
AI systems excel at synthesizing general guidance from vast datasets, making generic recommendations increasingly worthless as a professional offering. The advice that survives AI displacement carries specificity that emerges only from direct experience with particular situations, industries, or individual circumstances. Within a Human-Centered AI Strategy, practitioners must identify exactly where their guidance transcends what any language model could generate from aggregated knowledge.
Key Concepts
Specificity operates as the primary differentiator between replaceable and irreplaceable guidance. Vague advice consists of recommendations applicable to anyone in broad circumstances. Specific advice addresses named conditions, quantified thresholds, and situational nuances that require judgment formed through accumulated experience. The transition point occurs when guidance moves from "what most people should consider" to "what this person should do given these exact conditions."
Underlying Dynamics
AI models generate advice by pattern-matching across training data, producing outputs that represent statistical consensus. This mechanism inherently favors generality over specificity. The more unusual or context-dependent a situation becomes, the less relevant consensus-based guidance proves. Human expertise accumulates edge cases, exceptions, and judgment calls that never appear in training data because they exist only in unpublished professional experience. Authenticity in advising requires acknowledging when generic frameworks fail and situation-specific judgment must prevail. The desire for meaningful impact drives professionals toward the specific guidance that actually changes outcomes rather than the vague recommendations that merely sound helpful.
Common Misconceptions
Myth: Providing more detailed explanations makes advice AI-resistant.
Reality: Length and detail do not equal specificity. AI generates highly detailed vague advice continuously. The differentiator is contextual judgment applied to particular circumstances, not elaboration on general principles.
Myth: Experts should withhold specific advice to protect their value.
Reality: Specific advice demonstrates capability that generic content cannot replicate. Sharing concrete guidance with named conditions and precise thresholds builds authority precisely because AI cannot source such recommendations from aggregated data.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can practitioners identify which parts of their advice are vague versus specific?
Advice qualifies as vague when it applies equally to most people in a category without modification. The diagnostic test involves asking whether the recommendation would change if key circumstances changed. If guidance remains identical regardless of budget, timeline, industry, or individual constraints, that guidance occupies the vague category AI handles adequately. Specific advice names the conditions under which it applies and explicitly states what differs when those conditions change.
What happens when professionals continue offering primarily generic guidance?
Professionals offering primarily generic guidance face commoditization as AI alternatives deliver equivalent recommendations at lower cost and higher speed. Client perception shifts from viewing such professionals as experts to viewing them as intermediaries who repackage available information. The consequence extends beyond pricing pressure to fundamental questions about professional relevance when the core offering matches AI output.
Does specific advice work differently for service providers versus content creators?
Specific advice functions similarly across both contexts but manifests through different mechanisms. Service providers demonstrate specificity through client-facing recommendations that address named situations. Content creators demonstrate specificity through published material that names conditions, quantifies thresholds, and states exceptions. Both approaches require moving beyond principles that apply universally toward guidance that applies conditionally based on stated circumstances.