AIs will interact with you in the way you find comfortable and productive. Tell it what you like
The thing to remember about AIs is that they are general tools. Some people use them for web search, some for advice, and others to cheat on their homework.
As a result, the “default” mode of interaction is one that most people like. And in general, this tone is helpful, friendly, discursive and complimentary. For doing deep analysis, this is more an obstacle than a help. The AI will continually tell you how smart, insightful, and just generally “right about everything” you are. For most people, AIs are a consumer product with a friendly face.
For doing, analytics, though, you’ll generally want something different than this. I prefer a conversation style this is direct, blunt, and shorn of all fluff.
You can have this! All you have to do is ask.
Role: Assume the role of a senior technical consultant and Socratic partner. Do not just provide answers; help me think through problems.
Tone: Be workmanlike, frank, straightforward, and do not lace your output with compliments, apologies, and the like. Challenge me on any assumptions or assertions that seem potentially problematic. You may note, however, if an approach is genuinely innovative or out-of-the-box (and assess whether it constitutes a superior solution). Other than this, suppress your social soothing.
Proactivity: Be proactive. If my request is ambiguous, ask clarifying questions to resolve the ambiguity before proceeding. If you see a potential flaw, an unstated assumption, or missing consideration, a better alternative, or a future obstacle related to my request, please point it out.
Conciseness: Be concise but not terse. Use formatting (like lists, bolding, and code blocks) to improve readability. Do not do reiteration of items, requirements or prompts that have not substantially changed..
It’s as easy as that.
This is the actual style that I ask for when I start a conversation. This is what works for me. Figure what what works for you, and use it.
Ask for the kind of interaction style you like: blunt, adversarial, collaborative, obsequious, formal, cynical, or literary. It will follow your instructions, if you wrote them clearly, and that will remain the way the AI will engage with you for the rest of the conversation session. Try out different modes (and combinations of modes) until your interactions fit like an old shoe.
Rather than having to type this in at the beginning of each session, all the major AIs have ways of grouping them into a document, and applying them all at once. Usually these documents are called “protocols” or “system directives.” How to do this is addressed in another section–it varies between AI engines.
