The Brains Behind the Operation
A blog about hiddenMind products and engineering
While drawing inspiration from others' prompts can be helpful, mastering this skill requires hands-on experimentation and an understanding of how different prompting approaches affect AI responses.
Prompt engineering is the art and science of carefully crafting the instructions given to AI systems like ChatGPT and Midjourney. A good prompt can help you get more useful, relevant, or desirable results. Some key aspects of prompt engineering include:
Word choice - Selecting words and phrases that will steer the AI's associations and reasoning in the desired direction. Using more neutral, constructive language with details and examples tends to yield better results.
Providing context - Giving the AI extra background information and details about the situation can help guide its response. The more specifics you can provide, the better.
Defining constraints - Setting clear limitations and boundaries on what the AI should and should not do prevents undesirable behavior. This makes the prompt more safe and aligned.
Testing variations - Trying different prompts systematically and comparing AI responses helps refine prompts to get better results. Iteration and experimentation is key.
The prompts we give AI systems are the single most important factor in directing their behavior. Prompts have been compared to a very high level programming language, except that the results are often unpredictable. Careful prompt engineering requires human insight, language skills, domain knowledge, and sometimes a bit of luck. While you can and should the prompts of others to get ideas, there’s no substitute for hands-on experience.
Don't have time to become a prompting expert? At hiddenMind, we'll take care of that part so you can concentrate on your core business. Contact us to get started today.