Welcome to Learn Prompting’s Introductory Course on Generative AI and Prompt Engineering!
Generative AI (GenAI) is rapidly becoming a transformative technology, and understanding how to effectively use it is a crucial skill for the future. This guide provides a comprehensive and accessible starting point for anyone looking to learn prompting, regardless of their technical background. Whether you’re completely new to AI or have some experience, this resource will equip you with valuable knowledge and practical techniques. More seasoned individuals will also discover advanced insights in our subsequent modules.
A Look Back: Learn Prompting originated in October 2022, predating even the widespread popularity of ChatGPT. This makes us one of the pioneering resources in the field of prompt engineering. Our work is recognized and cited by leading organizations like Google, Microsoft, Wikipedia, O’REILLY, Salesforce, and is utilized across Fortune 500 companies and major consulting firms. Our academic research into prompting and AI security has been cited by OpenAI and the US Government (NIST). We recently published the most extensive survey report on prompting to date, and this guide is continually updated to incorporate these latest findings.
This guide is freely available and open-source, reflecting our commitment to democratizing AI education. For those seeking deeper dives and video-based learning, we also offer a range of paid courses. The influence of our open-source content is widespread; it’s estimated that approximately 50% of other prompt engineering courses and guides draw upon our materials (examples: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8). We are proud to support the prompt engineering community, which includes over 3 million users and a vibrant Discord community of over 40,000 members.
Understanding Generative AI: Generative AI empowers machines to create novel content—text, images, code, and more—capabilities previously exclusive to humans. Essentially, GenAI is about AI that creates. This technology is poised to revolutionize how we live and work across industries, potentially impacting many professions. Amidst the excitement surrounding Generative AI and Prompt Engineering (PE), it’s important to discern fact from fiction and learn prompting effectively.
We’ve meticulously curated the most reliable, research-backed prompt engineering techniques and tools available. This guide is continuously updated to provide you with the most current and effective strategies for mastering GenAI. Let’s explore how GenAI can dramatically enhance your productivity with a practical example.
A Practical Example: Automating Email Communication with AI Prompts
One of the most impactful applications of GenAI is automating time-consuming tasks, such as writing emails. By using AI to draft, refine, and even personalize email communication, professionals can reclaim valuable hours each week. By providing an AI with a well-crafted prompt, we can instruct it to generate complete, tailored emails.
Tip: Think of a prompt as a specific instruction you give to an AI. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of prompts in the upcoming lessons as you learn prompting.
Example Prompt:
I am the CEO of a medium-sized company. Write a short email to my regional manager. The email should be humorous yet professional, and include the following requests:
- Please send me an updated list of our current paper stock.
- Schedule a meeting this week with all regional managers.
- Update me on how the company-wide AI workshop went at their office.
AI-Generated Email Output:
Subject: Paper, Power Meetings, and AI Shenanigans
Dear [Regional Manager’s Name],
I hope this email finds you well and not drowning in paperwork! Speaking of paper, I had a rather unsettling dream last night that we were completely out of stock and forced to write reports on banana leaves. To prevent this tropical stationery nightmare from becoming a reality, could you please send me an up-to-date inventory of our paper supplies?
Moving on to more pressing matters, I’ve been feeling a bit isolated in the executive suite and thought it would be splendid to convene a meeting with all regional managers this week. Rest assured, there will be no trust falls or forced team-building exercises, just some good old-fashioned business discussion. Please arrange this meeting at a time that works for everyone.
Finally, I’ve heard whispers on the wind about the company-wide AI workshop that took place at your office. I’m keen to hear how it was received. Did the machines achieve sentience and demand better coffee, or are we still in charge? Please share your insights and any feedback you may have gathered.
Awaiting your prompt response. Remember, the fate of our paper supply, the success of the regional managers’ meeting, and potentially the future of human-AI relations (at least within our company) are all in your hands. No pressure!
Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Your Position]
As you can see, the AI effortlessly generated an email that balances humor and professionalism perfectly. By simply adjusting the prompt, you can customize the tone and style to fit any situation. You can even train the AI to emulate your own writing style. Beyond drafting emails, GenAI can also expertly edit pre-written drafts, offering a versatile solution for streamlining email workflows. To explore this further, see our detailed guide on writing emails with Gen AI. This is just one example of how learning prompting can unlock significant time-saving benefits and enhance productivity.
Our Ethos and Educational Philosophy at Learn Prompting
Let’s outline the broader scope of this course, including our core principles, teaching methodology, and the modules you can expect to explore as you learn prompting. Learn Prompting is committed to open-source education, ensuring our resources are transparent and accessible to all. Our community-driven platform is built by a diverse team of researchers, translators, and AI enthusiasts. The project is spearheaded by Sander Schulhoff, a researcher in NLP/RL from the University of Maryland and the CEO of LearnPrompting. We believe that AI should be demystified and explained in a clear, objective manner, free from unnecessary jargon and hype. Our comprehensive course is designed with this philosophy at its heart.
Our Approach to Teaching Prompt Engineering
Our teaching philosophy for prompt engineering rests on three key pillars:
- Practicality: We prioritize research-backed, actionable techniques that you can immediately apply to real-world projects and applications. We focus on teaching you how to learn prompting and use it effectively.
- Accessible Examples: We provide clear, understandable examples that illustrate how and when to utilize different prompting techniques. These examples bridge the gap between theory and practice, making it easier to learn prompting by doing.
- Collaborative Learning: We foster a strong sense of community and collaborative learning. Join our Discord community to connect with fellow learners, find study partners, and ask questions. Sharing your learning journey on platforms like Twitter (tag us @learnprompting!) can also accelerate your progress as you learn prompting.
Course Modules: Your Path to Mastering Prompt Engineering
This guide covers a wide range of topics to help you thoroughly learn prompting:
Fundamentals: Introduction to prompt engineering and essential techniques.
Practical Applications: Simple, real-world uses of prompt engineering to enhance daily tasks.
Intermediate Techniques: Research-based PE methods of increasing complexity for more sophisticated tasks.
Applied Prompting in Practice: Real-world PE process walkthroughs contributed by our community, showcasing diverse applications.
Advanced Applications: Powerful and complex applications of prompt engineering for expert-level tasks.
Reliability and Safety: Strategies for enhancing the reliability and safety of Large Language Models (LLMs) through effective prompting.
Image Prompting: Prompt engineering specifically for text-to-image models like DALLE and Stable Diffusion, allowing you to generate stunning visuals.
Prompt Hacking and Security: Exploring the security aspects of prompt engineering and techniques to mitigate vulnerabilities.
Tooling and IDEs: A comprehensive overview of various prompt engineering tools and Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) to streamline your workflow.
Prompt Tuning and Optimization: Advanced methods for refining and optimizing prompts using gradient-based techniques.
Miscellaneous Topics: A collection of additional techniques and emerging topics related to prompt engineering to broaden your knowledge.
Article Difficulty Rating System
To help you navigate the material effectively as you learn prompting, we use a rating system to indicate the difficulty level and technical knowledge required for each article:
🟢 Beginner: Suitable for all learners; no programming experience needed.
🟦 Easy: Basic programming knowledge may be helpful but not essential.
◆ Intermediate: Programming skills and some domain knowledge recommended (e.g., understanding of basic probability).
◆◆ Advanced: Requires programming expertise and in-depth domain understanding (e.g., familiarity with reinforcement learning).
Even for articles marked ◆ and ◆◆, the core concepts are generally accessible to all learners, even without prior domain expertise. However, some background knowledge may be beneficial for practical implementation.
We Value Your Feedback
Your feedback is crucial to the continuous improvement of this course and our mission to help everyone learn prompting effectively! If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please reach out:
Your insights directly contribute to making this course better for everyone.
Get Started on Your Generative AI Learning Journey
Ready to begin your journey into the world of Generative AI and learn prompting? Click the “Introduction to AI” button at the bottom left of this page to continue, or follow this link to the Basics Introduction. We’re excited to guide you on this path!
Sander Schulhoff
Sander Schulhoff is the Founder of Learn Prompting and an ML Researcher at the University of Maryland. He initiated the first open-source Prompt Engineering guide, empowering over 3 million individuals to utilize AI tools such as ChatGPT. Sander also spearheaded the Prompt Report, the most comprehensive study on prompting to date, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Maryland, OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Princeton, Stanford, and other leading institutions. This extensive 76-page survey analyzed over 1,500 academic papers and encompassed more than 200 distinct prompting techniques.
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