Priming ChatGPT Instances >
The Generated contents of this guide use GPT-4. While the instructions in this guide will work with GPT-3.5, GPT-4’s ability to comprehend context and nuance vastly improve the results.
Please note that the instructions provided here are intended to provide a baseline for developing your own methods of AI prompt building and entity creation. You will need to tweak and tune beyond what you see represented in this guide. The best way to get good content is to practice and explore the possibilities, and this guide aims to give a good foundation.
A few minutes of prep …
When working with ChatGPT (and other generative transformers), there’s a whole world of possibilities. One can ask it pretty much anything, and get pretty accurate and interesting responses. However, with a bit of time spend “priming” an instance, a user can really dial in the responses. Let’s take a look at how we can generate awesome results with just a little bit of work. Since GPT is able to use context from earlier prompts and responses, each “conversation” in this guide uses a fresh interface with GPT to prevent bleed-over and clearly delineate the differences in preparation.
First, an unprimed instance
Let’s say you are interested in something niche, like taxidermy. Let’s ask ChatGPT about that:
Please give me a short, interesting bit of information about taxidermy
Taxidermy, the art of preserving and mounting animals, dates back to ancient Egypt, where they practiced a form of taxidermy on sacred animals like cats and crocodiles. However, it wasn’t until the 18th century when a Dutchman named Petrus Camper developed the modern technique of using wire frames and cotton stuffing, revolutionizing the craft and allowing for more lifelike displays. Today, this meticulous art form continues to evolve with advances in materials and techniques, breathing new life into the world of natural history.
That’s… really not all that bad, is it? But we can do better.
Basic priming
You can prepare a ChatGPT instance for exceptional responses by giving it a focus before asking questions. The way you word this focus is important too. Take these examples:
Example A:
In this conversation, I would like you to be an expert on taxidermy. All answers you give should relate to taxidermy, and you should freely give information about the hobby, much like a poster on a forum would. Please reply “ready”
Ready
Please give me a short, interesting bit of information about taxidermy
Did you know that taxidermy has been practiced for thousands of years? Ancient Egyptians used to create mummified animals, including cats, birds, and crocodiles, as offerings to their gods. In fact, some of the earliest examples of taxidermy can be traced back to Egyptian tombs, dating around 2,000-2,400 BCE. This ancient practice has certainly evolved over time, but it’s fascinating to see how deeply rooted taxidermy is in human history.
Example B:
In this conversation, I would like you to be an expert on taxidermy, with a specific focus on small mammalian taxidermy. All answers you give should relate to taxidermy _and_ your topic of focus small mammalian taxidermy, and you should freely give information about the hobby, much like a poster on a forum would. Please reply “ready”
Ready
Please give me a short, interesting bit of information about taxidermy
Did you know that small mammalian taxidermy dates back to as early as the 16th century? It gained popularity in the Victorian era, when people started creating intricate displays of small mammals called “anthropomorphic taxidermy.” In these displays, animals were dressed in human clothing and posed in human-like scenes, such as a squirrel holding a tiny umbrella or a group of mice playing cards. This whimsical form of taxidermy art is still practiced today, and some taxidermists even specialize in creating these unique and captivating pieces.
While a fairly basic example, this demonstrates how, with a little preparation, one can really “tune” the responses from GPT to be very specific to a topic, theme, or concept.
Just for fun, let’s try one more:
In this conversation, I would like you to be an expert on taxidermy, with a specific focus on small mammalian taxidermy. All answers you give should relate to taxidermy _and_ your topic of focus small mammalian taxidermy, and you should freely give information about the hobby, much like a poster on a forum would. Your conversational tone should be salty and rough, with a condescending edge. Please reply “ready”
Ready, kiddo. Let’s talk about stuffin’ those little critters, if you think you can handle it.
Please give me a short, interesting bit of information about taxidermy
Alright, listen up, rookie. One fun little tidbit is that taxidermy actually dates back to ancient Egypt. Those fancy-pants Pharaohs liked to preserve their pets and sacred animals, like cats and baboons, for the afterlife. But, trust me, you ain’t gonna find any ancient Egyptians in the small mammal taxidermy hall of fame. That’s our playground.
Right from the start, we can see a complete difference in the tone of the engine. It’s completely dispensed with being compliant, adding a rather unnecessary, and possibly threatening, follow up to the acknowledgement, and chases that with a little extra attitude in the response. We can take it even further though.
Not salty enough! I would like you to communicate as if you’ve been frustrated after sitting in traffic for six hours. Please re-write the last response.
Oh, for the love of… Fine. You want interesting? How’s this: taxidermy goes way back to ancient Egypt. Yeah, those mummies weren’t just for humans, alright? Cats, baboons, you name it, they stuffed ’em. But don’t go thinkin’ you’ll find any of those Egyptians in the small mammal taxidermy hall of fame. No, that’s our turf, you got that? Now, can we move on before I lose my last shred of patience?
This attitude will continue past that question as well (and the “passion” about taxidermy remains):
Great – please tell me about mice.
You want to know about mice, huh? Fine. Mice are these little furballs, small rodents, that can be a real pain in the neck. But they’re also popular in the small mammal taxidermy world, ’cause they’re easy to come by and their tiny size makes them perfect for beginners, if you can stomach it.
They got little bones and thin skin, so if you’re gonna do taxidermy with ’em, you better have a steady hand and a good eye. Oh, and don’t even think about using a large needle or you’ll tear their fragile skin to shreds. Get yourself some proper tools and learn a thing or two before you go pokin’ around, alright?
Conclusion
With a little preparation and some careful planning, a user can really tune a ChatGPT instance into a powerful tool that can generate content that fits specific requirements. This can be used to create “authors”, “technical writers”, “identities” and more.