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If AI Were a Genie: Mastering the Art of Making Wishes With Prompt Engineering

Ray Beste

Jun 15 2023

3 min read

In the magical realm of generative artificial intelligence (AI), there’s an art that’s like making wishes with a genie. This art is known as prompt engineering, and it’s rapidly becoming a crucial skill for anyone looking to harness the power of AI. But what exactly is prompt engineering, and how does it relate to making wishes with a genie? Let’s embark on this enchanting journey.

Imagine you’ve stumbled upon a magical lamp, and out pops a genie ready to grant you three wishes. The catch? The genie takes your wishes very literally. If you wish for a million dollars, you might end up with a million dollars in Monopoly money. This is where the art of making wishes comes into play. The more specific and well-thought-out your wish, the more likely the genie will be able to fulfill it as desired.

Prompt engineering in AI works in a similar fashion. When interacting with an AI model, the “wish” you make is the prompt you provide. The AI, like our genie, will interpret and respond to your prompt very literally. Therefore, the more specific and well-thought-out your prompt, the more likely the AI will generate the output you desire.

Let’s delve into two key strategies for crafting effective prompts: priming and personas.

Priming involves providing the AI with some context or guidance before presenting the main prompt. It’s like giving the genie a bit of background information to help it better understand your wish. For example, if you’re using a text-generating AI to write a blog post about gardening, you might prime it with something like, “Imagine you’re an expert gardener sharing tips with beginners.” This helps the AI get in the correct frame of mind, helping it generate more relevant and accurate content.

Personas, on the other hand, involve defining a specific character or role for the AI to embody. It’s like asking the genie to play a specific character while granting your wish. For instance, if you want the AI to generate text in the style of Shakespeare, you might provide a persona prompt like, “You are William Shakespeare writing a sonnet about love.” This gives the AI a clear role to play, guiding its output in a specific direction.

In essence, prompt engineering is all about communication. It’s about clearly expressing your desires to the AI, much like you would with a wish-granting genie. The more specific and well-thought-out your prompts, the more likely the AI will generate the output you desire.

So, the next time you interact with an AI, remember to treat it like a genie. Be clear, be specific, and don’t be afraid to provide some context or a persona to guide its output. After all, mastering the art of making wishes is the key to unlocking the true potential of AI.

This publication contains general information only and Sikich is not, by means of this publication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or any other professional advice or services. This publication is not a substitute for such professional advice or services, nor should you use it as a basis for any decision, action or omission that may affect you or your business. Before making any decision, taking any action or omitting an action that may affect you or your business, you should consult a qualified professional advisor. In addition, this publication may contain certain content generated by an artificial intelligence (AI) language model. You acknowledge that Sikich shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by you or any person who relies on this publication.

About the Author

Ray Beste

Commencing his IT career with Sikich in 1989, the birth year of the World Wide Web, Ray has witnessed the evolution of technology from the inception of websites and browsers to the rise of smartphones and social media platforms. The advent of AI technologies, particularly Generative AI, has Ray focusing his attention on this and related technologies as he guides Sikich's internal use journey as well as that of our clients.