The MVP Prompt: If It's Worth Doing It's Worth Doing Badly

In today's episode of the Daily AI Show, Beth, Andy, and Jyunmi discussed the concept of an MVP (Minimum Viable Prompt) in AI prompting. The discussion revolved around how to start with basic prompts and iterate on them to improve AI interactions, emphasizing that even imperfect prompts can yield valuable outputs. The hosts shared insights and personal experiences on refining prompts through conversational dialogue and practical tips for achieving effective AI-generated results.

Key Points Discussed

Empathy and AI Support

The episode began with a reflection on how AI can provide empathetic support during challenging times by engaging in meaningful conversations and performing tasks to assist users.

Minimum Viable Prompt (MVP)

The MVP prompt concept encourages starting with simple, incomplete prompts to get initial outputs from AI, which can then be refined through iterative dialogue. The idea is that it's better to start imperfectly than not to start at all, and through continuous interaction, the AI can progressively improve its responses.

Conversational Model for Prompting

The hosts discussed the significance of using a conversational approach when working with AI. By engaging in a back-and-forth dialogue, users can refine their prompts and achieve more accurate and useful results. This method leverages the AI's ability to remember and build on previous interactions, allowing for a more natural and effective refining process.

Practical Prompting Techniques

Beth highlighted the importance of having the AI elicit necessary information through questions, which helps in crafting more precise prompts. Andy and Jyunmi shared their experiences with starting from basic prompts like "write me a LinkedIn post" and gradually refining them by providing feedback and examples.

Structured vs. Conversational Prompting

The episode explored the difference between structured prompting, using specific formats and constraints, and conversational prompting, which is more fluid and adaptive. Both methods have their place, with structured prompting being more suitable for automation and reusable prompts, while conversational prompting is ideal for exploratory tasks.

Tools and Resources

The hosts mentioned various tools like custom GPTs, AI studios, and consoles that assist in building and refining prompts. They also discussed the benefits of using frameworks, XML tags, and markdowns to provide clear instructions to the AI.

Examples and Templates

Providing examples and templates within prompts was emphasized as a key technique for achieving consistent and desired outputs. The use of few-shot prompting, where multiple examples are given, helps the AI understand the desired format and style better.

Prompt Drift

The phenomenon of prompt drift, where prompts become less effective over time, was addressed. Using examples and continuous testing in different environments and models were suggested as ways to counteract this issue.