Skills and strategies for using Generative AI
Introduction
Enthusiasts about Generative AI (GenAI) tools paint a picture of a world where technology will carry out the more routine, time-consuming tasks, enabling us to use the time saved to do much more interesting, creative and satisfying things.
Who would not like an extra four hours a week? What would you do with that time?
However, the media also regularly reports on examples where GenAI has provided wrong information that has a real-world consequence, such as the New York chatbot for entrepreneurs, which advised incorrectly and illegally on a number of issues including the responsibility of landlords not to discriminate on the basis of income.
Being aware of this potential for incorrect information can make it difficult to have confidence in the outputs provided by large language models (LLMs) in the real world, particularly given the higher risk of inaccuracies when using GenAI for legal advice and information.
This course considers the skills and strategies needed to use GenAI in the real world, so that individuals and businesses have greater confidence in its use. It explores when it might be appropriate to use a GenAI tool, how to ask questions effectively to get the best possible output (also called prompting), and the necessity of evaluating the information it provides.
An introduction to the course
Listen to this audio in which Kevin Waugh provides an introduction to the course.
Transcript
Welcome to Course 2: Skills and Strategies for Using Generative AI.
In this course, we’ll focus on one key goal: learning how to guide Generative AI tools—like ChatGPT—to produce useful, reliable, and relevant outputs. ChatGPT was the first widely used conversational AI—one that you could interact with in natural language, refining its responses through back-and-forth conversation. This practice has become known as prompting: giving the AI a clear request, then improving the results through thoughtful follow-up. Over the next three hours, we’ll explore how to write effective prompts and how to critically evaluate what the AI produces.
The course is divided into three sections: In Section 1, we begin with a note of caution. Prompting may seem simple, but it requires attention and care. AI doesn't always understand your intent, and vague or overly broad prompts often lead to unreliable or irrelevant responses. Getting good results starts with well-crafted prompts—and being prepared to review and refine what the AI gives you.
In Section 2, we ask: What makes a good prompt? We’ll explore prompting frameworks that help structure your requests, and we’ll look at how to take advantage of conversational interactions with AI tools to refine and extend responses.
In Section 3, we focus on reviewing AI outputs—checking for accuracy, usefulness, and trustworthiness. We’ll finish with a chance for you to put your prompting skills into practice, using a set of suggested tasks. Let’s get started. Welcome to Course 2.
You can make notes in the box below.
Discussion
ChatGPT was the first widely used conversational AI—one that you could interact with in natural language, refining its responses through back-and-forth conversation. This practice has become known as prompting: giving the AI a clear request, then improving the results through thoughtful follow-up. Over the next three hours, we’ll explore how to write effective prompts and how to critically evaluate what the AI produces.
This course assumes you understand how GenAI and LLMs work and the concerns around using them for legal advice and information. If you are not sure about this, we recommend you complete Course 1: Understanding Generative AI first.
This is a self-paced course of around 180 minutes including a short quiz. We have divided the course into three sessions, so you do not need to complete the course in one go. You can do as much or as little as you like. If you pause you will be able to return to complete the course at a later date. Your answers to any activities will be saved for you.
Course sessions
The sessions are:
Session 1: Introduction to prompting – 45 minutes (Sections 1, 2 and 3)
Session 2: Single prompts, conversational prompts and personas – 90 minutes (Sections 4, 5 and 6)
Session 3: Evaluating and correcting the output – 45 minutes (Sections 7, 8, 9 and 10)
A digital badge and a course certificate are awarded upon completion. To receive these, you must complete all sections of the course and pass the course quiz.
Learning outcomes
After completing this course, you will be able to:
Understand when Generative AI is the right tool to use.
Explain how to prompt large language models in the most effective way.
Evaluate the outputs of Generative AI for accuracy and reliability.
Be confident in using a large language model for a legal task.
Glossary
A glossary that covers all eight courses in this series is always available to you in the course menu on the left-hand side of this webpage.
