Meta prompting

A businessman pressing a key on his laptop. Above the key appears the illuminated shape of a robot, with the letters ‘AI’ in the centre of its body.

It turns out that asking the GenAI to produce a prompt for you can work well – especially if you remember to get the AI to ask you for additional information that would help produce a better output.

Here is an example:

   Meta prompt

I’m writing a short article on GenAI and the legal profession. What would make a good prompt to generate the article? If you need more information, ask me, and keep asking until you have the information you think you need.

   Response

That sounds like an interesting topic! To help you craft a good prompt for generating your article, I need a bit more information:

  1. Focus areas: Are there specific aspects of GenAI in the legal profession you want to highlight? For example, its impact on efficiency, ethical considerations, case studies, or future trends?
  2. Target audience: Who is your intended audience? Are you writing for legal professionals, students, or a general audience?
  3. Tone and style: What tone and style are you aiming for? Do you want it to be formal, conversational, or somewhere in between?
  4. Length: How long do you want the article to be? A brief overview or a more in-depth analysis?

Once I have this information, I can help you create a tailored prompt for your article.

 

   Prompt

Length about 600 words, tone is informal, maybe a Sunday newspaper supplement on business - it needs to be authoritative. Case studies should drive the article but its focus is on office efficiency. Target audience will mainly be business professionals and students in the business area.

   Response

Great, thanks for the details! Here's a prompt that should help you generate your article:

Write a 600-word article for a Sunday newspaper supplement on business, focusing on how Generative AI is transforming office efficiency in the legal profession. The tone should be informal yet authoritative, suitable for business professionals and students. Use case studies to drive the narrative, highlighting real-world examples of how GenAI has improved productivity and streamlined operations in legal offices. Discuss the benefits, challenges, and future potential of GenAI in this context.

Feel free to tweak this prompt as needed. If you need more specific case studies or additional information, let me know!

 

Notice that these are all things we’ve discussed when using the frameworks earlier, the GenAI is simply pointing out things that we hadn’t included in our meta-prompt instruction.

Activity icon Using an LLM for legal advice

Which of these three techniques do you think would be most useful when you use an LLM for legal advice and information?

You can make notes in the box below.

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Having considered how to use conversational prompting, the next section will consider our final way of prompting an LLM: using a persona.

Few-shot prompting

6 Persona