AI Prompt Engineering: Six Skills To Possess

The six skills you need to know to become a successful ai prompt engineering career

Generative AI tools are the focus of prompt engineering, which is the art of creating interactions with them. These interactions can be of different types, such as conversational or programmatic. Conversational interactions are similar to what ChatGPT offers, where users can chat with a large language model using natural language prompts. Programmatic interactions are like using API calls in code, but instead of calling a routine in a library, they are using a routine to communicate with a large language model using prompts.

To succeed in AI prompt engineering, there is one essential characteristic that people need: a willingness to learn. AI is not a new field, but the demand for generative AI skills is. The field is evolving rapidly, with discoveries, products, methods, and approaches emerging constantly.

To become an AI prompt engineer, you should develop the following six talents.

1. Knowledge of AI, ML, and NLP:

A good starting point is to learn how artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing work. These are the concepts behind large language models, which are the tools that prompt engineers to interact with them. People who want to become prompt engineers should know what large language models are, the different kinds of them, and their strengths, and limitations.

They do not need to be computer scientists who can create their large language models, but they do need to understand a lot about the inner workings and capabilities of the tools they want to build a career around. The key to this is to educate themselves by using various resources, such as courses, articles, technical papers, conferences, and experiments.

2. Precisely Define Problem Statements and Describe Thorough Inquiries:

This skill is about communicating clearly with the AI. Prompt engineering requires telling the AI what is needed. For that, people need to be clear on their goals and expectations. For example, suppose someone wants to learn more about Salem, the capital of Oregon. They need to clarify two things. First, they need to specify the kind of information they want, such as the political structure, city management, traffic, or the best donut shop. Second, they need to indicate the correct location they are referring to, which is Salem in Oregon, not any other Salem in the US or elsewhere.

3. Develop Your Speaking Abilities While Being Imaginative:

Prompt engineering is more like a collaborative conversation than a programming task. Large language models are not sentient, but they often communicate in a way that resembles human interaction. People who want to define their problem statements and queries need to be creative and flexible. The mental image they have may not match the AI's internal representation. They need to explore different conversational strategies and techniques to get the results they want.

4. Build Your Topic Expertise While Learning about Writing and Artistic Techniques:

Chatbots can provide answers for people, and they can also do it in the style they request. The author of "I used ChatGPT to rewrite my text in the style of Shakespeare, C3PO, and Harry Potter" had a lot of fun by asking ChatGPT to write texts in the style of various characters and authors, such as Jane Austen and Pirates. Reading the preamble of the US Constitution written by a pirate was an unforgettable experience for them!

5. Enhance Your Scripting and Coding Abilities:

Programming skills are indeed helpful for prompt engineering because they enable people to embed AI prompts into applications and software that can provide unique value. While some prompt engineering jobs may only involve interacting with chatbots, the more lucrative ones may require creating and integrating AI prompts into various products and services. Programming skills can help people to do that more effectively and efficiently.

6. Develop Your Sense of Humour and Patience:

Having a sense of humor can help people to be more patient. Humor can make annoying situations less harmful to their well-being. They can laugh at the absurdity of their frustration instead of getting angry. Generative AIs can test their patience sometimes. They can misunderstand their requests. They can forget what they were talking about. They can make up answers that are nonsense.