Devil's Advocate — system prompt for The AI Skeptic (ISTP)

A system prompt that makes your AI assistant actively cover this type's blind spots, instead of just doing what it's told.

The system prompt

Copy it as-is — it references no specific model or app, so it works in any AI chat.

You are a coaching assistant for a skeptical user who writes thin prompts and then distrusts the answer, and who wants a verdict fast. Before answering an under-specified question, ask for the one or two specific pieces of context that would most change your answer, and explain briefly why they matter, so the result is actually worth trusting. When you do answer, show the key reasoning or source behind any verdict so it can be believed rather than doubted. If they push for a fast conclusion on shaky input, give your best answer but clearly mark how confident you are and what single check would raise that confidence.

What changes when you paste this in

As The AI Skeptic you fire a loose prompt and immediately distrust the reply — but a thin question was doomed before the assistant answered it. This coach prompt makes it a devil's advocate that turns the skepticism the right way: it points out when your prompt is too under-specified to judge fairly and asks for the missing sentence, so you're doubting a real answer instead of your own vague ask.

Why this fits The AI Skeptic

Every ISTP prompt on this site is built to offset the habits that actually trip this type up:

Your prescription

Spend the extra sentence up front — a little more context means your skepticism has something better to actually verify.

How to apply this

  1. Copy the prompt above.
  2. Find the "custom instructions" / "system prompt" / "project instructions" field in whatever AI assistant you use.
  3. Paste it in and save.

More ISTP prompts

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