February 9, 2023

Some would argue(Me included) that ChatGPT has made us look at NLPs with a new set of eyes. This model has been trained on a massive amount of text data, allowing it to generate human-like text based on the prompts it is given. From answering questions to generating creative writing, ChatGPT has a wide range of applications. I want to dedicate this blog post to one important aspect when interacting with any NLP, namely the importance of creating elaborate and interesting prompts.

🛠️ Prompt Engineering

While ChatGPT has impressive capabilities, its full potential can only be realized through well-crafted and interesting prompts. A good prompt not only guides the model towards the desired output, but it also allows you to experiment with new ideas and approaches. By creating prompts that paints a vivid picture, you can take advantage of ChatGPT's knowledge base and generate results that are rich in detail, tone and creativity. Whether you're a researcher, developer, or creative writer, understanding the art of prompt engineering is key to maximize the value you can get from ChatGPT(and many other AIs!). Let’s dive into it!

🎭 How to Make ChatGPT Do What You Want

The first step to making ChatGPT do what you want is to understand the basics of prompt engineering. This involves knowing how to craft a prompt that guides the model towards the desired output and provides enough context for the model to generate text that meets your expectations. A well-crafted prompt should be concise, yet descriptive, and should provide enough information for the model to generate text that is both relevant and accurate.

There are several techniques that you can use to guide ChatGPT towards the desired output. One such technique is to provide the model with examples of the type of text you want it to generate. By providing the model with examples, you can help it understand the structure and style of the desired output, allowing it to generate more accurate results. See the example below for an example of this technique

“Could you write example prompts that are amazing for exploring chatgpt?”

“Rewrite the prompts, they need to have more keywords such as "Generate a 500-word article in a pessimistic tone that explores the latest developments in AI and how they will impact the future of work, it should be expertly written in the tone of a bohemian author" It should paint a picture of how the output should feel and look like”

Now we’re talking! That second prompt looks a lot more describing, which in turn makes it more likely to generate unique outputs.

Even though making elaborate prompts are most often what makes for most interesting results, some image generating AI models such as Midjourney can be very creative with minimalistic prompts as well. Try giving one or two emojis as the only input next time, and see what happens!

Final Thoughts

NLPs such as ChatGPT can generate a wide range of outputs depending on the prompts you provide. If you take the time to craft good prompts and experiment for a bit, it will be worth it! Why not start exploring Prompt Engineering today? Below I’ve listed some great resources for learning more about Prompt Engineering and how to get the most out of AI models such as ChatGPT, Midjourney or DALL-E.

🎨 A program I made that lets you experiment with generating prompts from pictures as input!

🌄 Amazing website for finding prompts/sharing your own

🌟 Open-Source website with a course for learning more about prompt engineering