At your wits end in trying to motivate your child who will be taking his PSLE exam, to study? How can you make his study interesting and fun with a customised learning plan? Or do you have a small growing wine business that wants a segmented customer base to offer targeted promotions to entice your customers? Or looking for a diplomatic response to a provoking email from a fellow colleague? Ask ChatGPT!
On 20 April 2024, a group of alumni gathered at SUSS for an informative workshop titled “Embark on Your Generative AI Journey: A Beginner’s Workshop to Writing Prompts”. This workshop was held in collaboration with GovTech Singapore and aimed to introduce the world of Generative AI to participants with little to no technical background. The focus was on how to write better prompts for OpenAI’s ChatGPT, a powerful generative AI tool, to yield actionable results.
Hands-On Learning Experience
The workshop kicked off with an engaging presentation by two trainers from GovTech. One started with an introduction of the emerging trend of Generative AI and the endless possibilities it brings and another, a winner of the prestigious Prompt Royale. Singapore’s first live GPT-4 prompt engineering competition who shared techniques and guided particpants through the process of crafting effective prompts that allowed ChatGPT to generate relevant responses.
This segment of the workshop was not only intriguing, but it also boosted the confidence of attendees who had never tried their hand at using generative AI to delve deeper into this subject. With a better understanding of how it works, they can incorporate this tool into their field of work or personal life to increase efficiency.
The participants were awed by the results generated with the well crafted prompts. The case examples mentioned above demonstrated how our tasks and projects could be simplified with the help of GenAI. As GenAI is still in its infancy although it is improving by leaps and bounds, participants were alerted to the possibility of hallucinations (incorrect or misleading results that AI generates). Hence the importance of verifying the accuracy of the information was emphasised and participants were shown how that could be done.
Key Learning Points
One of the key highlights of the workshop was the introduction of the CO-STAR framework. CO-STAR, which stands for Context, Objective, Style, Tone, Audience, and Response, provides a structured approach for creating effective prompts, ensuring the generated content remains relevant and engaging. This framework considers key aspects that lead to more optimal responses.
Attendees left the workshop with a wealth of new knowledge and practical skills. The workshop was not only educational, but it also uncovered the vast potential that generative AI technology has to offer. The feedback from the attendees was overwhelmingly positive and many appreciated the session that provided them with many practical insights.
Alumni Perspectives
SUSScribe spoke to two alumni on why they signed up for the workshop. A key motivation was the importance of staying relevant with the latest technological trends. Another was to understand how they can bring this knowledge to share at work or in the community where they volunteer.
Tang Chow Kheng, Bachelor (Hons) of Counselling, Class of 2012, shared that she attended the workshop despite the lack of direct relevance to her field of work as she has plans to write a self-help book. She is motivated in her personal development as she believes that lifelong learning can allow her to better help others in the community.
Another alumnus, Tan Jian Long Michael, Bachelor of Accountancy, Class of 2018, said that he found this workshop directly relevant to his role as a data scientist. His goal was to learn about prompt engineering to enhance his productivity and efficiency at work. For him, being efficient and productive at work is a lifelong journey. He believes that only with constant learning and upgrading, will he be able to continue to improve and become the best version of himself.
Conclusion
The “Embark on Your Generative AI Journey” workshop successfully provided beginners with a platform to explore the practical applications of AI writing prompts. Through the case examples, with step-by-step walk-through to achieve quality outcomes, attendees were empowered to further explore the creative potential of generative AI.
Such educational initiatives are crucial for individuals eager to upgrade their skills and keep pace with the evolving world. The enthusiasm displayed by the attendees was heartening for alumni relations who will continue to curate impactful workshops to enrich the alumni community. Perhaps we should first turn to ChatGPT with quality prompts for the answer!
