Prompt Engineering in AI: An Overview & Future Prospects

AI prompt engineering has become one of the hottest jobs in the market. But is it a stable career path or just a short-lived hype? If you’re interested in becoming an AI prompt engineer, read on, and learn about AI prompt engineering as an occupation.

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What is AI Prompt Engineering?

AI prompt engineering is the process of creating and refining prompts for artificial intelligence systems. The input, or what you tell the AI model to do, is what you call the prompt.

Generative AI, like ChatGPT, predicts words in sequence. The technology is trained on a large data set to churn out the best probable word sequence after being given a prompt.

Xavier Amatrain, VP of Engineering at LinkedIn, says in LinkedIn’s Prompt Engineering 101 that a prompt contains four elements. Here are examples of each element:

1. Instructions: “Give 20 inspiring quotes for a career coach’s Instagram page.”
2. Question: “What is a content strategy?”
3. Input Data: “Here is some information about a career coach: [input information].” Then add an instruction like, “Create a content strategy for her business.”
4. Examples: “I love the following books as a career coach: [give examples of books].” Then add a question like, “What other books should I read?”

Your prompt could range from simple to complex. A simple prompt could be a question that needs a factual response like, “Who was the President of the United States in 2018?” A more complex prompt could combine any of the four elements:

“[Instruction] Act as a digital marketing specialist. You are asked to run a social media campaign on Instagram to grow a career coaching business. [Input data] The career coach is a woman in her 40s who was a teacher for 20 years. She successfully transitioned from education to the IT industry. She is now a successful entrepreneur with an MBA from a top university in the U.S. Her goal is to help teachers in the U.S. successfully transition to a different career. She also authored the book ‘Career Transitions in Mid-Life.’ [Instruction] Create a content strategy for her business.”

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Notice that the example provides context along with the instruction. When asking complex questions, going direct to the question or instruction without providing the proper context won’t usually give you the best output.

What Does an AI Prompt Engineer Do?

As an AI prompt engineer or “AI whisperer,” your task is to develop a set of inputs that an AI model can use to generate the most desirable output. As we have seen, the prompt’s quality significantly affects an AI model’s performance.

To help an AI system give the most accurate responses to problems, AI prompt engineers train the AI with prompts. They design prompts to get the best results. As an AI Prompt Engineer, you should be able to understand the problem and select the best data sources to do these tasks.

Applications of AI Prompt Engineering

AI prompt engineering creates more accurate and efficient language models that help people work efficiently. It’s a legitimate career that helps develop the most impressive web apps you can try right now .

You can train AI bots as Anna Bernstein does with Copy.ai, as shared with Business Insider . Riley Goodside has a similar job with Scale AI, as mentioned in The Washington Post . Here are some other ways other users have used AI prompt engineering:

1. Create chatbots: You can create conversational chatbots for customer support on social media or websites. For instance, Amogh Agastya shares how he was able to integrate Dialogflow with GPT-3 to create a mental health assistant from scratch .
2. Improve recommendation systems: You can improve the accuracy and relevance of recommendations in a platform, as seen in this post about The Quest for Better Music Recommendations Through ChatGPT Prompt Engineering .
3. Develop extensions: You can create Google Chrome extensions like Igor Stefurak, as featured on Business Insider . Stefurak, an entrepreneur, built his extension in ten hours using ChatGPT. He then sold it for thousands on Acquire.

There are multiple practical uses of ChatGPT in Programming and other creative ways to use ChatGPT by OpenAI . But generating successful results requires knowledge of AI prompt engineering.

Is AI Prompt Engineering a Stable Career Path?

Is an AI prompt engineering career stable? Will it give you room for career growth, and will it last forever? Given the speed by which AI and other tech are developing (plus volatile economic conditions), no job is truly stable. However, the best time to learn AI prompt engineering is now, while the technology is relatively new, and the profession isn’t saturated with “experts.”

As Simon Willison, a developer and researcher, tells CBC Radio , companies are seeking out experts in communicating with AI. This shows that while anyone can create prompts and use AI for daily tasks, there’s also space for expertise.

Moreover, a simple search online shows that companies are hiring prompt engineers. You can check out job posts from the Boston Children’s Hospital and the AI safety and research company Anthropic .

AI prompt engineering is necessary for companies and businesses looking to leverage AI. The AI revolution has just started, so you can safely assume there will be a growing demand for AI prompt engineers as long as people use AI tools.

How to Start Your AI Prompt Engineer Career

You don’t need coding skills, a tech background, or experience with AI to become an AI prompt engineer. For example, Anna Bernstein, previously mentioned in this article, is an English major and former freelance writer. To succeed in this role:

1. Develop Your AI Prompt Engineering Skills

This non-exhaustive skills list will be helpful for your AI career:

• Adaptability: A person who is adaptable shows flexibility when change happens. They are also proactive in finding solutions to anticipated changes.
• AI Prompt Engineering Techniques: You should master prompt engineering techniques, which you can find in online resources such as the Prompt Engineering Guide .
• Analytical Reasoning: This is your ability to break down problems to find patterns and solutions.
• Critical Thinking: This is your ability to make logical judgments.
• Curiosity: One of the underrated soft skills you can practice online , curiosity shows an eagerness to learn.
• Ethical Behavior: Given the ethical dilemmas in artificial intelligence , a solid grasp of ethical issues in AI while leaning toward the most ethical solutions is a must.
• Linguistic Skills: This is your capacity to understand information and express yourself.
• Technological Literacy: A research paper from BSU says that this is “the ability to use, manage, assess, and understand technology.”

AI systems design expert Alex Shoop shared his thoughts on the best practices of AI prompt engineers in VentureBeat’s, so you want to be a prompt engineer . These practices include:

• Robust testing
• Reproducible results
• Safe and secure technologies

That said, an AI prompt engineering career requires continuous learning and practice. Learning the principles while mastering the technology will help you become an AI prompt engineer.

2. Build Your AI Prompt Engineering Portfolio

To highlight your prompt engineering skills, build an online portfolio on a website builder like Canva. Include the prompts you designed, and any other projects related to technology and AI. A strong portfolio will help you position yourself as an AI prompt engineer professional.

3. Start Networking and Building Your Credibility

Now is the best time to learn from other professionals and build credibility as an AI prompt engineer. Search online for tech industry networking events, and connect with those experimenting with generative AI. You can also use LinkedIn and YouTube to show your skills and help aspiring AI prompt engineers.

4. Look and Apply for Jobs

AI prompt engineering is a new career path. But you can already start looking for jobs on these websites:

• Joblist.ai
• PromptHero
• Upwork

Always check the legitimacy of online jobs. Take note of red flags that your job offer isn’t legitimate .

Position Yourself as an AI Prompt Engineer

While no job is truly stable, AI prompt engineering is a valuable skill to learn today. It’s a viable career path as more companies seek AI prompt engineers. And even if AI tools are developing and changing quickly, you can already start your career as an AI prompt engineer.

You should do two things to add AI prompt engineering to your job skills list. First, master the skills necessary to manipulate AI. Second, position yourself as someone up-to-date in using technology amid its iterations. Like in all careers, people’s perception of you and skills mastery are essential in carving out a career in AI prompt engineering.

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