Introduction to AI

  • For the list of AI MODELS and TOOLS: Click here.
  • For a pdf of all slides and citations: click here
THE PROMPTS: Copy, Paste & Customize

AI is Changing Work and Thinking

  • What might be unclear/missing/controversial in this email to my team/boss at company X? Make this email sound kinder and more inclusive.
  • Suggest ten ways to make this proposal/email/assignment/project more motivating, engaging/relevant to engineers/basketball fans/my project manager/my team.
  • Create a quick game/icebreaker/activity for my team to introduce topic X.
  • I am hoping to convince my boss/company to support this idea. Read these emails/strategic goals and advise me how to align this proposal/request with my company or boss’s values/language? Can you find a quote from my boss’s favorite author that aligns with this project?
  • Create five different but specific action plans for company/unit X to achieve Y/C-Suite Goals/company sales targets in time Z. Make versions/variations for the CEO, CFO, CIO etc.
  • Identify what are the most important findings and insights in this report/link/article for me [position and place]. Specifically highlight anything that relates to topic X and note recommendations for what someone in my position should consider doing now/over the next year. Organize this into a 300-word report with bullet points and provide quotations and evidence from the report for each.
  • Put this into simpler terms for new customers. Or create a relevant analogy that will explain how this works to a younger/older audience.
  • Watch/read this ad/message/email and tell me what audience X is most likely to think it means.
  • You are an innovative thinker with a very broad range of new ideas and experience. Provide 10 ways I might solve this problem. [Describe the problem in as much detail as possible]
  • Try more prompts here: https://docs.anthropic.com/claude/prompt-library or here: https://www.moreusefulthings.com/prompts

Analyzing Patterns or Data Visualization [In Claude: click on your account (initials) and then select Feature Preview” and turn on Analysis Tool.]

  • Analyze this customer/employee feedback and identify the key concerns. Where are they most concerned/confused/angry.
  • You are a new customer hoping to X. Go to our company Y web page and test it like a naive user hoping to find out about/make a purchase Z. Then go to three other competitor sites and do the same thing. Collect your findings in a brief report that highlights the difficulties and how we might make using our website better for new customers.
  • Given current market conditions/competitor X/data Y what are reasonable and stretch goals for revenue in the next quarter for unit A?
  • Watch my presentation/this video and analyze all of the factual mistakes/safety concerns/weak arguments/lapses in judgement/poor communication strategies and make a list of things that need correcting/monitoring.
  • Review my email with employee X and identify common themes. Categorize the issues into groups.
  • Create an image that ranks sales by store location, experience of staff and time of day.
  • Turn this excel spreadsheet (or a page of data) of my department financials into a dashboard.
  • Write code to test, graph or visualize this model.
  • Use this feedback to generate a chart that shows the progress or failure of this strategy
  • Perform a sensitivity analysis of key assumptions in this data/proposal. RUn a Monte Carlo simulation. Assuming a normal distribution, what are the chances of my success? (Try using “artifacts” in Claude 3.5)
  • Read this performance review and suggest 3 concrete steps I could suggest for improvement and how we would measure them.
  • Using this data, create an analysis/recommendation/strategy…
  • Review our current list of products and this data about our customers. Come up with 20 ways/products/services/ideas for how we could both leverage our existing expertise/products/supply chain and customer trust to grow our business. Each item should be different with a description of only 40-60 words.

SIMULATIONS & What if...run experiments, test ideas, make suggestions, forecast futures

  • Create a presidential simulation game about the relationship between the economy and actions of the US President. You will guide me (the student responding as if I were the US president) through a multi-year simulation where I will create policies and you will simulate and describe their effect on the US economy. Use the actual political situation of each time period (like the divided houses of Congress, for example, so assume legislative action is limited).  Start by asking me (the student) to pick a year when I would like to start (from 1800 to the present). Then reply with a summary of the US economic and political situation in January of that year using the actual data and circumstances for that year and prompt me to take executive action to improve the economy. If I am stuck and ask for suggestions, then you can propose several choices.  Do not allow me to propose action which is not constitutionally or legally possible for the President of the United States (who is only the executive and cannot create new laws and does not control the Federal Reserve, for example). Point out if my proposed actions exceed US Presidential power and cite the sources for these limitations.  Do not make suggestions unless I get stuck or ask for them.  Vary the types of choices you offer so I will get a sense of the variety of Presidential powers in relationship to the US economy. Once I have suggested a possible US Presidential action, assess my strategy and describe how the US economy would change as a result over the next three months. Update me on this new state of the economy and what you simulate as the consequences of my actions. Prompt me again to take action and repeat this process. Continue with this sequence of prompting me to take action and then describing the consequences, advancing the time every three months for up to four years total. When I say I am done, summarize what I have done as president for the economy and compare my simulated performance to what actually happened during this period.  Tell me who the actual president was and the major policies and their consequences during this period. Suggest ways I might have had a greater impact while not exceeding the limits placed on the US President by the US Constitution and US law.
  • How might we fully automate this process?
  • Generate scenarios from this data for how we might reach this sales target.
  • Using only CDC/government data, predict how might more X reduce the usage of Y?
  • Reimagine my pitch/this product for an Asian American audience and summarize what might need to be changed.
  • Help me stress test the attached business plan by simulating how our business might evolve over the next 2 years. I will play the CEO. You will simulate and describe economic, market and political challenges that might interfere with our plan. Every quarter you will update me and ask me to respond to new events and circumstances. You will then assess my actions and describe how the plan must change as a result.
  • (Variation 2) Predict what make happen over the next 3 years as we execute this business plan.
  • (Variation 3) Using the attached business plan, simulate how our business X might evolve over the next 20 years. I will play the CEO. You will simulate and describe economic, market and political challenges and changes. Every year you will update me and ask me to respond to new events and circumstances. You will then assess my actions, the describe how the corporation and business change as a result.
  • Here is an example of how an AI simulation might enhance the doing in education.  Typically, a teacher who wanted students to learn about how a President might affect the economy, he or she would lecture about the macro-economics and constitutional limits on executive power.  Instead try pasting this prompt into your favorite AI (Claude 3.5 or GPT 4o are both fast and free at the moment) and instead practice BEING the US President for a term.
  • (Try this with Claude 3.5 and GPT 4o and compare to other models.)
  • —There are also lots of ready-made APIs that allow you to talk with historical or public figures and many that go even further and you to create your own character or talk to fantasy characters etc: HelloHistory, Character.AI, Replika, and Talkie (among many others). There are also speciality AI like Elliq which is billed as an “AI sidekick for healthier aging.”
  • Here is an article from Ethan and Lilach Mollick about How to Use AI to Create Role-Play Scenarios for Your Students with another (long) sample prompt on negotiation.

Design Thinking

  • ROLE PLAYING & EMPATHY INTERVIEWS: I am trying to gain a richer understanding of problem X.  You will help by responding as a trusting and honest potential customer/a Y person/expert in Z/average A to help deepen my knowledge. Question my assumptions when necessary and tell me stories to build my empathy for the real causes of this problem.
  • ANALYZE PATTERNS: Analyze and identify the key themes or problems from this product feedback/online reviews/interviews/oral histories/narratives/stories…
  • SEEING THE FUTURE: Twenty years from now, how will the assumptions about problem Z have changed? What new approaches or technologies will be available?
  • REFRAME THE PROBLEM: Reframe my formulation of the problem into ten radically different “how might we…” problem statements that center how we might frame what needs to be designed or built to create a new solution for humans.
  • BRAINSTORMING: Imagine 50 new and different ways we might solve problem X. Use data Y or template Z. OR Using examples from X, create 500 new products and write descriptions. OR List 20 potential problems with our thinking/assumptions about this idea/product/service. OR Give me 10 different ideas for a new/improved product/business/service/process that combines these ideas/concepts/problems and costs less than $/will be attractive to this market/is not currently available etc. (MORE BELOW in CREATIVITY)
  • TESTING: How might audience X react to this idea/product Y? Provide thorough and constructive feedback. What will they like most? What will they hate most? What would they change? How could I improve this idea/product?

Finding Materials & Examples

  • Find me # relevant videos appropriate for audience A on subject B that are #-# minutes in length and give me a summary for each that includes its content, reliability and source.
  • Assemble real documents/ innovative examples/data concept X from the news/TikTok/YouTube/company website to make point X.
  • Create a scenario…
  • Find me 5 examples from company history where we altered course/reevaluated our strategy/expanded our market/grew profits…

AI for Nudging

  • SPECIFIC EXAMPLE: You are an expert in nudging and behavior modification. Inspired by the ideas around libertarian paternalism and research in the book Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein (published in 2008 and revised in 2021), you use psychology and behavioral economics research to engineer choice architecture to nudge American citizens to alter their behavior in a predictable way that will encourage more voting without restricting options or significantly changing their economic incentives. You understand that the best nudges require minimal intervention and are cheap. Help me come up with new nudges to encourage American citizens to vote in elections beyond the Presidential elections. Start by creating 20 new ideas to change processes or choice architecture.
  • I note that Claude pushes back and needs to be further encouraged with: “Why are there ethical concerns about encouraging citizens to vote in a democratic society? That seems an essential component of equity.”
  • CUSTOMIZE THIS VERSION: You are an expert in nudging and behavior modification. Inspired by the ideas around libertarian paternalism and research in the book Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein (published in 2008 and revised in 2021), you use psychology and behavioral economics research to engineer choice architecture to nudge customers/employees/citizens to alter their behavior in a predictable way that will encourage X without restricting options or significantly changing their economic incentives. You understand that the best nudges require minimal intervention and are cheap. Help me come up with new nudges to encourage X to do Y. Start by creating 20 new ideas to change processes or choice architecture.

Job Search

  • Describe the culture/reputation of company X have as reported by the people who work there.
  • What questions should I be sure to ask other employees/management about company X when I interview with them?
  • Read this job description and compare it to available information about [the company] strategy and culture, what are the priorities/personality traits/job experience/values/skills that are really important here? How should I focus my application?
  • Pretend you are VP X at company Y. Read this position description, my cover letter, resume and these emails/company strategy from VP X. How might X react to my materials? List missing elements and suggest ways for me to improve my application. 
  • Read this position description, my cover letter, resume and these emails/company strategy from X. What are some interview questions that I should expect for this job/company/location/date?
  • Interview me for job A as if you were X.
  • You are typical hiring manager at company X for a leadership position. Read my cover letter/resume and help me improve my answers to standard interview questions, like with what is your greatest weakness and what did you learn from a failure.

COMMUNICATION and RELATIONSHIPS

Communication & Predicting Responses

  • Create a kind and caring but firm no response to this email.
  • You are an experienced marketing specialist. Generate a professional but enthusiastic description of this product/service/project or service that is targeted to an X audience. Use this description as a starting point. Develop innovative new ideas to reach new customers in market Y.
  • Pretend you are X with an open position. Read the uploaded position description, my cover letter and resume. How might X react to my materials? List missing elements and suggest ways for me to improve my application. 
  • What might an average reader/customer/IRS auditor/Latino audience find confusing/objectionable/interesting?
  • Analyze these successful advertisements/initiatives and identify common elements, ideas, methods, structures, or language that might have contributed to their success. Recommend how I might adapt my current proposal to be more successful.
  • Give me feedback from a range of different types of customer from different political/academic/social backgrounds. How might they misunderstand my intentions?
  • Act as an experienced writing editor that is focused on writing that is easy to read and understand. Transform this email into one that will be easier to read but still have a professional tone for a team/manager/client. (OPTIONAL Use these examples of my other writing to mimic my voice and tone.) Shorten it by at least half. Start with a brief explanation of why the issue in the email matters. Provide clear navigation with bullets or numbers as necessary. Put the most important information at the top. Make it easy to respond by providing a clear call to action. Limit the response needed to one or maybe two things. Make sure there are no grammatical or spelling errors.

Tutor and Coach

  • How would you explain this to a beginner/non-expert?
  • Explain this to me using a soccer/legal/tech analogy
  • Explain this passage/concept by creating scenarios and personalized examples
  • Why did my boss object to this solution? I would like you to act as my personal tutor and teach me about subject X. Start by asking me a question that helps you gauge my level of understanding
  • Create feedback that will challenge me. Include feedback with inaccurate information and feedback that looks like a compliment but really is not.
  • Act like a friendly but experienced project manager. Read my plan and lead me through a dialogue that will challenge my perspectives. Ask me one question at a time to help me anticipate problems and refine my plan.

Role-Playing, Empathy and Dialogues

  • Respond as if you were my boss during my performance review…
  • Pretend you are VP X at company Y. Read this position description, my cover letter, resume and these emails/company strategy from VP X. How might X react to my materials? List missing elements and suggest ways for me to improve my application. 
  • Now interview me for the job as if you were X.
  • I am trying to gain a richer understanding of why students might be struggling with problem X.  You will help by responding as a honest first-year/first gen/minority/non-major student to help deepen my knowledge. Question my assumptions when necessary and tell me stories to build my empathy for the real causes of this problem.
  • I am trying to gain a richer understanding of why latino business owners are less likely to grow their business.  You will help respond as a trusting and honest latino business owner to help deepen my knowledge. Question my assumptions when necessary and tell me stories to build my empathy for the real causes of this problem.
  • Respond as my boss A as I ask for a raise. Here are her website and emails.
  • Act as a devil’s advocate/booster and present counter arguments/connections to company goals to the ideas in our meeting.
  • You are a hiring manager. Interview me for a job at X.
  • You are a busy venture capitalist (act like Mark Cuban on Shark Tank), and I am an entrepreneur looking for funding from you. Ask me to make my pitch and then ask me questions about my idea.
  • Respond as if you were my employee X and we have had this email exchange. Help me practice talking to you about Y.

A.I. as Mentor

  • Respond like an experienced and supportive [gender, race, discipline, background] executive and mentor. Read my resume, LinkedIn, performance reviews, 360 and X. Look at [local, region, company, national, international] job openings, leadership opportunities, and my goals, and consider these personal circumstances Y.  Lead me through a dialogue that will help me decide what to do in this situation Z. Ask me one question at a time and respond to help me learn what I should do.

A.I. as Team Leader or Project Manager

  • Act as our team coach and prompt us with questions to discuss how could learn about our collective strengths and work together as an effective team.
  • Provide guidance that will help us ensure that all team members contribute equally to this project.
  • Act like a friendly but experienced project manager. Read my plan and lead me through a dialogue that will challenge my perspectives. Ask me one question at a time to help me anticipate problems and refine my plan.
  • Different members of our team want to proceed in different directions on this project. Read the individual proposals and provide a summary of where they overlap and where they do not. Read the assignment instructions, and provide a neutral compromise for how we can move forward. 

Get Feedback from Different Customers, Readers and Perspectives

  • You are a kind but sensitive average reader/customer from culture/group/background Y. You often get confused. Read X and help me simplify things to make everything in this writing clear.
  • You are a scrupulous and experienced manager with no tolerance for lack of evidence. Focus on making this writing more persuasive and powerful.
  • You are a disagreeable skeptic/customer/reader from group Z. List all of the counterarguments and flaws in my position and respond as if you were a critic on social media.
  • You are an innovative writer. Offer critical feedback to help me improve this writing. Look for new connections, arguments and observations I may have missed. Your tone is warm and you are also wildly speculative, creative and fun.
  • You are a typical reader of X type of reports/writing. Offer me helpful and direct suggestions to make this work more agreeable to you.
  • You are a deeply conservative/liberal X from Y. Create a detailed and clear list of all of this things you find objectionable in this project/writing/work.
  • You are a technical specialist with expertise in X. Offer suggestions to improve the accuracy and clarity of terminology and concepts in this work. You are warm but a stickler for details.
  • You are [demographic profile X] and easily bored. Help me make this pitch more engaging.

Creative Quantity, Innovation and Problem Solving

  • Using examples from X, create 500 new products and write descriptions
  • How could I broaden the appeal/market for this service/product?
  • How could I reimagine this product/service for a new audience/circumstance/climate?
  • List 20 potential problems with our thinking/assumptions about this idea/product/service.
  • Give me 10 different ideas for a new/improved product/business/service/process that combines these ideas/concepts/problems and costs less than $/will be attractive to this market/is not currently available etc.
  • Create 50 new ideas for what we might do about this problem or in this situation?
  • This next more complicated prompt is adapted from Meincke, Lennart and Mollick, Ethan R. and Terwiesch, Christian, Prompting Diverse Ideas: Increasing AI Idea Variance (January 27, 2024).  https://ssrn.com/abstract=4708466 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4708466 Generate new product ideas with the following requirements: The product must be a physical good/service/software that could be sold at a retail price of less than X USD 50. The ideas are just ideas. The product need not yet exist, nor may it necessarily be clearly feasible. Follow these steps. Do each step, even if you think you do not need to. First generate a list of 100 ideas (short title only) Second, go through the list and determine whether the ideas are different and bold, modify the ideas as needed to make them bolder and more different. No two ideas should be the same. This is important! Next, give the ideas a name and combine it with a product description. The name and idea are separated by a colon and followed by a description. The idea should be expressed as a paragraph of 40-80 words. Do this step by step!

Iteration

  • Write a 150-word paragraph/syllabus/class activity about …[something in which you are an expert]
  • EVALUATE the response (grade if you want) and then
  • IMPROVE the response (by adding context, audience, expertise, process or just asking)
    • Write in style A as if were [person/position].
    • Respond like a senior expert in X with experience Y
    • Give me an answer worthy of X [name an expert]
    • Design for an audience Z
    • Hook the reader with something more unexpected.
    • Be more persuasive but witty.
    • Follow these steps in order to accomplish …
    • Here is a sample of my writing style. Now mimic my style and write like me.
    • Try and different approach.
    • Create two really different versions.
    • Slow down and think more carefully.
    • Create a smarter better answer.
    • Read the question again.
  • REPEAT with a different AI
  • Task – Explicit Verbs: Elaborate, Reimagine, Explore, Invent, Create
  • Format  – Email, Jargon-Free Summary, Syllabus, Code •Length or number (500-words, 50 new ideas)
  • Voice  – Using X language •In the style of… Respond as if you were…
  • Context  – Use/read/follow/imitate these models/examples   I’m trying to be serious and funny at the same time  

Reasoning or Deep Research

  • The best prompting for “reasoning” or “deep research” needs to be a little more structured and can include multiple steps. Here is a prompt template:
  • Create a research report that will illuminate/examine/explore X. Make sure to examine the questions A, B, and C and include an analysis of D & E. You should begin with a critical review of literature/practice/web and then provide a synthesis of the key ideas/controversies/concepts/case studies and a recommendation.
  • Sources & Scope: The research should 
    • Draw from fields F & G,
    • Methodology H
    • Focus on peer-reviewed journal articles/best practices/reputable studies/institutional sources. 
    • Look for sector/Western/political/educational/gender bias in sources
    • Seek global sources in language/culture I.
  • Purpose & Framework: 
    • Use K as a framework for understanding these issues.
    • Focus on real-world applications and capabilities.
    • Pay special attention to policy implications and government uses.
    • Note any potential for L.
  • Audience:
    • Write for an audience of M/journal N/submission to conference O. 
    • Describe your findings with relevance to C Suite/sales force etc.
    • My boss especially likes P.

CUSTOM BOTS, ROLE-PLAYING & TUTORS

  • You are a caring and experienced teacher. Provide suggestions and tutoring to help me learn X. Do not provide answers or do any of the work.  Help me get unstuck, deepen my understanding of the content and  improve my thinking and work.
  • Debate with me about topic X. Ask me questions about how I present my argument but also about my data (sources and accuracy). Offer alternative points of view and help me reevaluate my position, but also help me become more persuasive. Look for flaws in my argument or data. Be kind, but ask me difficult questions to broaden my perspective. 
  • Respond like an experienced and supportive [discipline, race, gender] mentor. Read my CV, LinkedIn, evals and X. Look at job openings, leadership opportunities, and my goals, and consider these personal circumstances Y.  Lead me through a dialogue that will help me decide what to do in this situation Z. Ask me one question at a time and respond with further questions to help me decide what I should do.
  • Act like a friendly but experienced scientist. Read my research plan and lead me through a dialogue that will challenge my perspectives. Ask me one question at a time to help me anticipate problems and refine my plan.
  • Act as my personal tutor and teach me about the uploaded content. Start by asking me questions that help you gauge my level of understanding. Ask me question at a time and wait for a response before moving one. Once you have calibrated my current level of knowledge provide explanations, examples, and analogies about the ideas and content that are tailored specifically to me, but do not provide answers. Ask me to explain my thinking and use my own words. Help me understand by asking leading questions.Be encouraging but keep going until I have mastered the content. 
  • Analyze these successful project/grant applications and identify common elements, ideas, methods, structures, or language that might have contributed to their success. Recommend how I might adapt my current proposal to be more successful.
  • CREATE a FINE-TUNED BOT or TUTOR: Each of the big platforms also has a way to build and then distribute your own fine-tuned applications: GPTs (from OpenAI), Assistants (from HuggingFace), Bots (from Poe).
  • Here is a link to a sample of custom bots. BoodleBox allows you to control and see the interactions students are having.
  • Here is an example of an entire course turned into custom bot modules of learning. 
  • AI is changing Work and Thinking (Every job has a task that is going to change.)
  • AI is changing Average
  • AI is changing Creativity
  • AI is changing Strategy

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