Practical AI for Instructors and Students Part 3: Prompting AI

Summary

In this educational video, Professor Ethan Malek and Angelina Malik from the Wharton School introduce viewers to AI, focusing on crafting effective prompts for AI interaction. They emphasize the importance of context, clear instructions, and examples to guide AI in tasks. The video demonstrates step-by-step prompt construction, using tools like GPT4 and Bing, and highlights the iterative process of refining prompts and incorporating human feedback for optimal AI performance in educational settings.

Takeaways

• 📝 **Context Matters**: Telling the AI who it is provides the right context for its responses, making its output more relevant and effective.
• 📐 **Clear Instructions**: Providing clear instructions to the AI is crucial, as it lacks inherent knowledge of the user's context or goals.
• 📚 **Examples and Steps**: Giving the AI examples and step-by-step directions helps it understand the task better and perform more effectively.
• 🔧 **Iterative Process**: Prompting is not a one-time task; it involves experimentation and refinement to achieve the desired outcome.
• 💬 **Conversational Approach**: Interacting with the AI as if it were a conversational partner helps in guiding it towards the desired output.
• 🔄 **Prompting is Part of Interaction**: Creating the perfect prompt is less important than the ongoing interaction with the AI.
• 🎨 **Customization and Constraints**: Adding context, perspective, and constraints to the prompt can guide the AI to produce more tailored content.
• 🔍 **Utilize AI Tools with Internet Access**: Tools like Bing can leverage internet access to include academic research in their responses, enhancing the quality of information.
• 🤖 **Integrate Human Expertise**: Including specific points or knowledge that the user wants to be covered ensures that the AI's output aligns with human expertise.
• 🤔 **Step-by-Step Thinking**: Asking the AI to think and outline its response step by step can lead to more structured and coherent content.
• 🔄 **Iterative Revision**: Regularly revising and providing feedback on the AI's output helps in refining the final result, making the process more collaborative.
• 👨‍🏫 **Act as an Editor and Instructor**: Users should take on the role of an editor and instructor, guiding the AI and shaping its responses to meet their needs.
• 🧙‍♂️ **Magic is Not Real**: The process of working with AI is more about experience and practice rather than following a magical formula.
• 🔄 **Embrace Randomness**: Recognize that AI systems have built-in randomness, and use this to your advantage by experimenting with different prompts and iterations.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video series presented by Ethan Malek and Angelina Malik?

The main focus of the video series is to provide an introduction to AI, particularly its application in education, and how to effectively use it from a foundational level.

Why is it important to tell the AI who it is when giving instructions?

Telling the AI who it is provides the right context from which to start, as the AI has been trained on billions of documents and needs this context to understand the perspective and environment it is operating in.

What is the significance of giving clear instructions to AI?

Clear instructions are crucial because AI does not know the user's context or intentions. The more context provided, the more effectively the AI can perform the desired task.

Why should examples and steps be given to AI when assigning a specific project?

Examples and steps help the AI understand what the user wants and think step by step, leading to a more effective performance in completing the task.

What are the two important caveats mentioned about constructing prompts for AI?

The two caveats are: 1) Prompting isn't magic and is about experience, with each generation of AI models making it easier. 2) Prompting is just a part of the interaction with AI, which is more important than getting the perfect prompt.

How can AI models like GPT-4 and chat GPT be used to improve writing?

AI models can be used to generate initial drafts, provide context and perspective, and follow specific instructions or constraints to enhance the quality and style of writing.

What is the advantage of using Bing in creative mode over GPT-4 for certain tasks?

Bing in creative mode has access to the internet, allowing it to look up academic research or additional information that GPT-4, which is not connected to the internet, cannot access.

How can including oneself in the AI model improve the output?

By adding specific points or instructions that one wants the AI to include, the output becomes more integrated with human input, leading to a more personalized and targeted result.

What is the 'Chain of Thought' thinking and how can it be used with AI?

Chain of Thought thinking is a method where the AI is asked to think step by step, outlining and proving its points before writing the final content. This helps the AI stay on task and allows for better output quality.

Why is it recommended to interact with AI interactively rather than trying to create the perfect prompt?

Interactively working with AI allows for continuous feedback and guidance, which vastly improves the work. It is more effective than a single perfect prompt because it adapts to the evolving needs and preferences of the user.

How does the randomness in AI systems affect the user's experience?

The randomness built into AI systems means that different prompts can yield different outputs, even from the same system at different times. This can be advantageous as it allows users to select the most suitable response or to refresh and try again for better results.

What role does the user play in the process of using AI for writing tasks?

The user acts as a guide, editor, and instructor, taking the lead in shaping the AI's output by providing feedback, selecting preferred content, and giving directions for improvement.