The Erosion of Expertise in a World Gone Mad for Visibility

As I scrolled through LinkedIn recently, I noticed a disturbing trend: thought leaders offering no insights, founders establishing nothing of actual value, and an alarming number of self-proclaimed AI experts whose expertise seems to be little more than having a ChatGPT subscription. This phenomenon is not new; it’s been building for years, driven by the same forces that have turned our professional landscape into a free-for-all.

The term “bullshittery” was coined by philosopher Harry Frankfurt in 1986, but its relevance has aged terrifyingly well. A bullshitter is indifferent to truth and instead optimizes for appearing competent, confident, or the right kind of person to be in the room. On LinkedIn, a platform that rewards visibility over substance, this behavior has become rampant.

In the past, professionals followed a simple contract: learn something, do it well, and gradually develop a reputation among people who could tell the difference. This reputation would then translate into work, money, and stability. However, this contract has been broken, replaced by an algorithmic visibility that cares little about expertise or quality.

Researchers have long warned of the dangers of low-credibility information on social platforms. A 2024 analysis found a correlation between distributing unreliable information and attention – being less reliable was a winning strategy for getting noticed. This dynamic applies to anyone building an audience, pitting careful professionals against carnival barkers who claim any expertise that fits the trending topic.

LinkedIn has become the professional-class equivalent of late-night infomercial television, where careers are peddled as products, and hollow advice is sold under the guise of mentorship. The trick remains the same – look at me, I’m living proof that what I’m selling works! – but now it comes with a modern twist: curated profiles, fabricated job titles, and bot-inflated followers.

What’s maddening is not just the existence of grifters, but how platforms like LinkedIn actively reward them. The algorithm doesn’t distinguish between thoughtful, well-researched content and hastily generated LLM output – both can trigger engagement, usually at the cheaper option’s expense.

This erosion of expertise has far-reaching consequences. When incentives no longer point toward honest, competent work, we lose trust in professionals and institutions. We start to believe that anyone can be an expert, regardless of their actual abilities or qualifications. This erodes our collective capacity for critical thinking and informed decision-making.

In a world where visibility is paramount, substance has become optional. But as Frankfurt observed, the bullshitter is a greater threat to honest discourse than any liar. They are indifferent to truth, and their actions have consequences that we’re only beginning to realize.

The answer lies in our collective willingness to prioritize quality over quantity and recognize the importance of genuine expertise in a world gone mad for visibility.