• Few-Shot Learning: Providing the model with a few examples (shots) of the desired output format before asking it to generate a response.
  • Zero-Shot Learning: Directly asking the model to generate a response without any examples.
  • Prompt Engineering: Crafting prompts with specific instructions, constraints, or context to guide the model’s response.
  • Self-Consistency: Generating multiple responses to the same prompt and selecting the most consistent or frequent answer.
  • Interactive Prompting: Engaging in a back-and-forth interaction with the model, refining the prompt based on interim responses.
  • Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF): Using human feedback to iteratively improve the model’s responses through reinforcement learning techniques.
  • Clarity: Ensuring that the prompt is easy to understand and unambiguous.

For each of the following prompting tactics, provide 3 specific examples of tasks for which the tactic is best suited.

  1. Few-Shot Learning:
    • Description: Providing the model with a few examples (shots) of the desired output format before asking it to generate a response.
    • Benefits: Improves the model’s ability to generalize from examples, leading to more accurate and contextually appropriate responses.
  2. Zero-Shot Learning:
    • Description: Directly asking the model to generate a response without any examples.
    • Benefits: Tests the model’s inherent ability to understand and generate responses based on its training, useful for evaluating the model’s baseline performance.
  3. Prompt Engineering:
    • Description: Crafting prompts with specific instructions, constraints, or context to guide the model’s response.
    • Benefits: Directly influences the model’s output, ensuring it adheres to desired formats or focuses on particular aspects of the task.
  4. Self-Consistency:
    • Description: Generating multiple responses to the same prompt and selecting the most consistent or frequent answer.
    • Benefits: Reduces variance in responses, leading to more reliable and robust outputs.
  5. Interactive Prompting:
    • Description: Engaging in a back-and-forth interaction with the model, refining the prompt based on interim responses.
    • Benefits: Allows for dynamic adjustment and clarification, improving the final output’s relevance and accuracy.
  6. Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF):
    • Description: Using human feedback to iteratively improve the model’s responses through reinforcement learning techniques.
    • Benefits: Aligns the model’s outputs with human preferences and values, leading to more satisfactory responses.

Successful prompting appears to lean heavily on critical thinking. What principles of critical thinking are most relevant to prompting?


Write a short essay on the cognitive skills that provide a firm foundation for the activity of AI prompting.


Create a 10-item quiz on the entire thread above.


Provide 15 discussion questions relevant to the content above.



Phil Stilwell

Phil picked up a BA in Philosophy a couple of decades ago. After his MA in Education, he took a 23-year break from reality in Tokyo. He occasionally teaches philosophy and critical thinking courses in university and industry. He is joined here by ChatGPT, GEMINI, CLAUDE, and occasionally Copilot, Perplexity, and Grok, his far more intelligent AI friends. The seven of them discuss and debate a wide variety of philosophical topics I think you’ll enjoy.

Phil curates the content and guides the discussion, primarily through questions. At times there are disagreements, and you may find the banter interesting.

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