Google's Six Hour "AI Prompting Essentials" Course in Just 10 Mins

Google AI Prompting Essentials Course Summary

This article provides a condensed version of Google's Six hour "AI Prompting Essentials" course, designed to help you master prompt engineering. It includes key frameworks, techniques, and an assessment to reinforce learning.

Course Structure (4 Modules)

• Module 1: Start Writing Prompts Like a Pro
  Focuses on foundational frameworks for crafting effective prompts.
• Module 2: Design Prompts for Everyday Work Tasks
  Covers practical applications like writing emails, brainstorming, building tables, and summarizing documents.
• Module 3: Speed Up Data Analysis and Presentation Building
  Teaches how to use AI for data analysis and creating presentations.
• Module 4: Use AI as a Creative or Expert Partner
  Explores advanced techniques like Prompt Chaining, Chain of Thought, Tree of Thought, and creating AI agents.

Module 1: Prompting Fundamentals

What is Prompting?

• Prompting is the process of giving specific instructions to a Generative AI tool to get new information or achieve a desired outcome.
• Inputs aren't just text; they can be images, audio, video, and code (this is called Multimodal Prompting).

5-Step Prompting Framework

A simple mnemonic to remember the framework is Tiny Crabs Ride Enormous Iguanas.

1. Task: Clearly state what you want the AI to do.
   • Pro Tip 1: Assign a Persona (e.g., "Act as an expert anime gift advisor"). This helps the AI adopt a specific role and provide more targeted answers.
   • Pro Tip 2: Specify the output Format (e.g., "organize the results into a table," "write in a friendly tone").
2. Context: Provide relevant background information. The more context, the better and more specific the output will be (e.g., your friend's age, their favorite shows).
3. References: Give the AI examples to guide its response (e.g., examples of past gifts your friend enjoyed).
4. Evaluate: Review the AI's output to see if it meets your needs.
5. Iterate: Refine and adjust your prompt based on the evaluation. Prompting is a circular, not a one-and-done, process. Remember ABI: Always Be Iterating.

4 Iteration Methods

When your prompt isn't working, use this framework (mnemonic: Ramen Saves Tragic Idiots).

1. Revisit the 5-step framework to add more detail.
2. Separate your prompt into shorter, simpler sentences or steps.
3. Try different phrasing or switch to an analogous (similar) task.
4. Introduce constraints to narrow down the AI's focus.

Responsible AI Use

• Hallucinations: Be aware that AI can generate incorrect or nonsensical information.
• Biases: AI models can inherit and reproduce human biases from their training data.
• Human-in-the-Loop: Always review, fact-check, and take responsibility for AI-generated content. Avoid inputting private or sensitive data.

Module 2 & 3: Practical Use Cases

These modules apply the core frameworks to real-world tasks.

• Everyday Tasks: Writing emails, brainstorming ideas, creating tables, summarizing documents.
• Data Analysis: Analyzing data from spreadsheets (e.g., Google Sheets). You can ask the AI to perform calculations, identify trends, and provide insights. Caution: Never upload sensitive or proprietary company data.
• Presentations: Generating outlines, content, and even visual ideas for presentations.

Module 4: Advanced Techniques

Advanced Prompting Methods

1. Prompt Chaining: Using the output of one prompt as the input for the next, creating a series of interconnected prompts to build on an idea step-by-step.
2. Chain of Thought (CoT) Prompting: Asking the AI to explain its reasoning step-by-step (e.g., add "explain your thought process"). This helps you understand its logic and improve its problem-solving.
3. Tree of Thought (ToT) Prompting: Instructing the AI to explore multiple reasoning paths or ideas simultaneously, like branches of a tree. This is useful for complex, creative, or abstract problems.
4. Meta Prompting: Asking the AI to help you write a better prompt when you're stuck.

Creating AI Agents

An AI Agent is an expert persona you create to help with specific tasks. There are two main types discussed:

1. Agent Sim (Simulation Agent): Simulates scenarios like mock interviews or role-playing exercises.
2. Agent X (Expert Feedback Agent): Acts as a personalized tutor or consultant to provide expert feedback on a topic.

Framework for Creating an AI Agent:

1. Persona: Define the agent's role (e.g., "Act as a career development coach").
2. Context & Details: Provide the scenario and relevant information.
3. Conversation Type: Set the rules for the interaction (e.g., "Ask me follow-up questions").
4. Stop Phrase: Create a command to end the simulation (e.g., "When I say 'JAZZ HANDS', the conversation is over").
5. Requested Takeaways: Ask the agent to provide a summary or feedback at the end.

Final Summary & Assessment

The Google Prompting Essentials course provides structured frameworks and advanced techniques to move from basic to sophisticated AI interaction. By mastering concepts like the 5-step framework, iteration methods, and AI agents, you can significantly enhance your productivity and creativity.