In an ever-changing world where artificial intelligence is taking center stage, mastering the art of communicating effectively with these complex systems is essential. Writing relevant and effective prompts is a crucial skill for getting the most out of AI models, and who knows, maybe shaping the future of how we interact with these amazing technologies.
Fortunately, there are plenty of online resources to help you learn prompts engineering for free. Dive into the fascinating world of AI communication with these websites dedicated to this essential skill.
Table of Contents
What is a prompt?
The most common means of interaction between users and AI models is text or prompts.
The basic definition of a prompt is a general instruction that you offer to the AI model. For example, Stable Diffusion and DALL-E need prompts in the form of detailed descriptions of the desired visual output.
Prompts for large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and GPT-4 can be simple queries or complex problems with multiple facts.
What is Prompt Engineering?
Prompt engineering is a fascinating discipline within the field of artificial intelligence (AI), focused on using prompts to generate specific results from AI tools such as natural language processing (NLP) services. It is a method of formulating questions or instructions in a way that elicits more accurate and relevant responses from AI-based language models .
The goal is to improve the quality and efficiency of interactions between the user and the model, by guiding the model to generate responses that match the user’s expectations.
A prompt can be defined as a simple statement, a piece of programming logic or even a sequence of words. The varied methods of deploying prompts allow for unique and challenging responses. The essence of prompts in AI is comparable to the art of encouraging a person to answer a question or begin an essay.
Today, neural networks are able to process much more data, which leads to increased complexities. The concept is simple, but harnessing the full power of today’s AI is another story.
Why is prompt engineering important?
Current language models, such as GPT3 and GPT4, are capable of generating surprisingly consistent and informative responses. However, they can also produce inaccurate or inconsistent results if questions or instructions are not worded appropriately.
Prompt engineering helps reduce these errors by improving the way questions are asked or instructions are given, leading to more accurate and useful answers.
Prompt engineering with ChatGPT
Here is a step-by-step guide to understanding prompt engineering with ChatGPT.
- Define the objective: It is crucial to establish a clear objective for the prompt. For example, when writing an article summary, the goal is to provide a succinct and informative overview.
- Build an initial prompt: Start by creating a simple, straightforward prompt, such as “Summarize the following news article:”. You can then refine and improve this prompt as needed.
- Evaluate and iterate: Analyze the response generated by ChatGPT in response to the initial prompt. Modify the prompt if necessary to optimize the result. For example: “Provide a concise 3-sentence summary of the following news article:”. Repeat the process until you get the desired result.
- Use control mechanisms: Test different control techniques, such as tokens, prefixes or suffixes, to guide the AI’s response. For example, add a phrase like “By adopting a professional tone,” to influence the tone of the generated text.
- Leverage Automation in Prompt Design: Explore tools and methods to automate prompt design, such as using machine learning algorithms to generate or optimize prompts based on specific data sets.
By following this structured approach and illustrating with real-world examples, you will develop a solid understanding of prompt engineering, enabling you to create effective prompts for ChatGPT.
Ongoing practice is essential to perfecting your prompt engineering skills. As you gain experience, you will develop a more intuitive understanding of how to build the ideal prompt for each situation. Feel free to check out the online resources below, such as the GitHub repositories, to discover more inspiration and examples.
Prompt Engineering Websites and Resources
Learn Prompting (learnprompting.org): Immerse yourself in this free, open-source course that offers in-depth documentation on prompt engineering. Join a passionate community on their Discord server to exchange ideas and share experiences.
ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Developers (deeplearning.ai): In partnership with DeepLearning.AI and OpenAI, this free course teaches you how Language Model Models (LLMs) work and provides best practices for prompt engineering. A treasure trove of knowledge for aspiring developers.
OpenAI Best Practices(help.openai.com): Learn best practices for engineering prompts with the OpenAI API. This site is a great starting point for those who want to dive into the world of efficient prompts.
Prompt Engineering Tutorial(lilianweng.github.io): Deepen your knowledge of prompts engineering with this technical tutorial. Explore use cases and learn how to create prompts tailored to your specific needs.
Also, for inspiration and examples of prompts, check out the following sites:
Awesome ChatGPT Prompts(prompts.chat): A wealth of sample prompts for the ChatGPT template, ready to be explored and adapted to your personal or professional projects.
ShareGPT(sharegpt.com): Share and discover the craziest and most creative ChatGPT conversations with just one click. With nearly 200,000 exchanges shared to date, you’ll have no shortage of inspiration!
Emergent Mind (emergentmind.com): A site full of useful prompts along with their sources. Expand your repertoire of prompts to improve your interactions with artificial intelligence.
PromptHero: Explore millions of artistic images generated by AI models such as Stable Diffusion, Midjourney and DALL-E. Select the subject and style you’re interested in, find inspiration and learn from real-world examples.(prompthero.com)
PromptVine: Discover an extensive collection of ChatGPT prompts organized by category, profession and use case.(promptvine.com/)
Online tools and platforms
Awesome-Prompt-Engineering: this repository brings together carefully selected resources for prompt engineering, focusing on GPT, ChatGPT, PaLM, etc. You’ll find articles, tools, code, APIs, datasets, templates, AI content detectors, tutorials, videos and books. A treasure trove for practitioners and developers alike.(github.com/promptslab/Awesome-Prompt-Engineering)
Prompt Engineering Guide: another notable GitHub repository that includes guides, scientific articles, links to blogs, tools, tutorials, and datasets related to prompt engineering.(github.com/dair-ai/Prompt-Engineering-Guide)
Prompt Engineering Guide: another notable GitHub repository that includes guides, scientific articles, blog links, tools, tutorials, and datasets related to prompt engineering.(github.com/dair-ai/Prompt-Engineering-Guide)
PromptPapers: check out a regularly updated list of the latest articles on tuning prompts-based language models.(github.com/thunlp/PromptPapers)
OpenPrompt: if you’re comfortable with the command line interface, this open-source framework for learning prompts is for you. It contains many implementations of current methods of learning prompts that you can use and practice. In addition, you can create your own prompts.(https://github.com/thunlp/OpenPrompt)
Conclusion
Don’t let the future of AI communication slip away. Take the time to learn and master prompt engineering to establish smooth and effective interactions with these fascinating systems. The world of artificial intelligence awaits you, and it’s time to rise to the challenge by developing this invaluable skill.
The art of communicating with artificial intelligence systems, such as ChatGPT and GPT-4, relies on one essential skill: prompt engineering. To get the most out of these technologies and eventually shape our future with them, mastering this discipline is crucial.
Fortunately, a multitude of online resources, websites, tools, and platforms are available to help you learn and practice prompt engineering for free. Feel free to immerse yourself in this fascinating world and develop your skills for optimal interaction with AI models, which are constantly evolving and transforming our world.
