The Specification Problem: Why AI Demands Rigor That Human Teams Never Needed

Unlike human engineers who challenge vague requirements, AI agents immediately execute their best guess—often incorrectly. By replacing prose acceptance criteria with precise, measurable specifications using the Given/When/Then format and explicit thresholds, you eliminate ambiguity that machines exploit. The rigor wasn't optional before because human reviewers caught unclear requirements; now it's essential for AI-driven development.