{"id":15149,"date":"2026-06-01T15:09:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T15:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insulation.org\/io\/?post_type=articles&p=15149"},"modified":"2026-06-26T18:05:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T18:05:26","slug":"bad-specs-ai-generated-specifications","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/insulation.org\/io\/articles\/bad-specs-ai-generated-specifications\/","title":{"rendered":"Bad Specs: AI-Generated Specifications"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Most of us have tried out different artificial intelligence (AI) chat tools, typing in prompts and watching paragraphs appear on the page. You probably thought, \u201cWow. That\u2019s actually not bad.\u201d You may have even thought, \u201cI wonder if it could write my specs for me.\u201d What could go wrong?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confidence Is the Problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Traditional bad specs are usually bad in obvious ways, such as a section reference or thickness table that never got updated, or maybe a product name is used where a generic description should appear. Those problems are at least visible, if you look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes AI-generated specs bad is less obvious. The problem is that AI tools are fundamentally pattern-matching engines\u2014in our example, producing text that sounds like a mechanical insulation specification, assembled from everything the tool has ever \u201cread\u201d on the subject. AI results do tend to come with a warning to verify results. However, according to a recent Clear Spark Digital study, of the 80% of Americans making decisions based on AI, only 17% are checking the results.1<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A Chilling Example<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To illustrate, here is an abbreviated prompt:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Write a mechanical insulation specification for a chilled water system operating at 44\u00b0F in a conditioned interior space. Include material type, applicable ASTM standards, insulation thickness, vapor retarder requirements, and jacketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a condensed snippet from the AI-generated response:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PIPE INSULATION\u2014CHILLEDWATER SYSTEMS
Material:<\/strong> Flexible elastomeric foam insulation per ASTM C534-19.
Thickness:<\/strong> 1 inch for all pipe sizes up to 4 inches.
Vapor retarder:<\/strong> factory-applied per ASTM C921.
Vapor retarder jacket:<\/strong> SSL per ASTM C921.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looks reasonable, right? Let\u2019s review it, with help from members of NIA\u2019s Technical Information Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n