AI Whisperers: The Rise of Prompt Engineering in a World of Chatbots
Prompt engineering is the skill of writing effective prompts for large language models (LLMs) to get the desired results. It is a valuable skill that can be used for a variety of tasks, such as writing marketing copy, generating creative text formats, and summarizing factual topics.
Summary
- LLMs are different from traditional software in that they respond to requests written in everyday language and can produce surprising results.
- Prompt engineering is the skill of writing effective prompts for LLMs.
- A good prompt should include a clear instruction, be phrased in a way that encourages complex reasoning, and break down instructions into a logical progression of separate tasks.
- It is also helpful to include authoritative texts in a prompt, direct the model to give particular sources priority, and ask the model to list its sources.
- Asking an AI to role-play can be helpful for tasks such as producing advertising copy.
- Good prompts are valuable and can save time and money.
- Prompting agencies and online courses are flourishing, and jobs for prompt engineers are becoming more common.
- AI advances may eventually render such jobs obsolete, but for now, prompt engineers have a valuable skill.