28. Prompt
Rethinking Next: Prompt
(6-minute read)
I distinctly remember when I first started using Google, just after we had launched Pathfinder at Time Inc.? I was fascinated with the little search box on the page.? It was like a portal in which you entered a question or asked for an answer. It was a new way of “searching” for something. And then when the answers came back…it was revolutionary. It changed how we as humans sought out information.?
The other phenomenon that came along as my digital career progressed was the emergence of the great oracle - Wikipedia.? Another evolution that replaced the Britannica Encyclopedias that adorned every bookshelf across homes and libraries.? And, the short-lived CD ROM Encyclopedia version that Microsoft launched called Encarta.? A boxed set that attempted to become a subscription, upended by a free business model. Wikipedia became the shortcut to accessing knowledge used to underpin decisions and settle arguments or debates on trivia night.?
This got me thinking about the emergence of ai Chat and the notion of prompts, versus searching.? While chatbots and auto-completions have been with us for a while, most are not good user experiences and more often than not - an annoyance versus a desired outcome.??
In the near future, I believe the search box will be replaced by the use of prompts. Prompts are a type of artificial intelligence technology that uses context-specific messages to deliver relevant information to users without the need for them to search for it.?
This will allow users to get the information they need quickly and accurately, without having to manually search through a massive database of information. Additionally, prompts will be able to provide a more personalized experience for users, as they will be able to tailor their messages according to the user's preferences and interests.
As my mind toggles back and forth between Marshall McLuhan and William Gibson, I can see how communication between people will be accomplished through this new form of technology. We are already seeing an acceleration of a new kind of skillset called prompt engineering.? This new Linkedin course just popped up in January.? And there is already an emerging new marketplace for prompts called Prompt Base.?
Prompts are small, unobtrusive devices that are embedded in the fabric of everyday life, constantly collecting data and delivering it to users in the form of intelligently crafted, context-specific messages (as cited above).??
With this technology, people will be able to communicate more efficiently and effectively than ever before, allowing for seamless communication between individuals and groups, regardless of geographic location, time, language, culture, or even disability.? This is what I envisioned as the vision of Spatial Shift back in 2008.
As people become more and more accustomed to this new way of interacting, the possibilities for creative expression and collaboration between individuals will be limitless.? As well as the idea of finding information in a meta-tagged manner that most resembles how your brain is wired. Right-brained people will get their information in a right-brain format. Left-brain people will get their information in a left-brain format.??
Imagine being able to see how the other person receives information before you have a conversation.? That would be the ultimate form of empathy.? I would wager that it will lead to a new word that extends beyond empathy.?
Before we head to the future, I would like to back up to the world of special education. My wife and I have been living with prompts ever since we discovered our son was on the spectrum back when he was six months old.? Every IEP that we co-created had the concept of prompts embedded into the instruction.?
We came to learn that there is a prompt hierarchy. A prompt hierarchy is a structured systematic method of assisting students to learn and use new skills. Prompt hierarchies provide each student with a greater number of opportunities to communicate. They will reduce the student's level of frustration, anger, and adult dependency.
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PROMPT and The PROMPT Institute was developed by Deborah Hayden in the 1970s and became the systematic manipulation of tactual-kinesthetic-proprioceptive input to oro-motor structures for changing speech targets was begun with children who presented severe motor impairment. The systematic manipulation of tactual-kinesthetic-proprioceptive input to oro-motor structures for changing speech targets was begun with children who presented severe motor impairment. I am happy to say prompts have worked miracles for our son and taught us a language that is now going to become universal in short order.?
As the future of work continues to evolve and the demands for skills and capabilities shift, the concept of “prompt” will become increasingly important. Prompt will become a way of thinking and behaving that enables employees to act quickly and efficiently when faced with a problem or challenge.?
It will become an essential skill set that every employee will need in order to remain competitive in the modern workplace. In a world where information moves quickly, being able to think and act quickly is essential. Prompt will become the ability to quickly process information, assess the situation, and then take action.?
It will involve being able to make decisions quickly, without compromising on quality or accuracy. It will become the ability to think on one’s feet, identify issues, and then act quickly to solve them. In today’s competitive business environment, having the ability to prompt will be a must. ??
The question will become - how will we unlearn and learn this new way of thinking?? Who already has this skillset?? Who will teach this skillset?? Do you have this skillset?
NOW (How you are realizing this today)
NEW (How you will realize this tomorrow)
NEXT (I see a world in which)?
I see a world in which we will be using prompts to advance our ability to learn and communicate more effectively.? This will lead to the idea of compounding interest in the form of narrative worth.???
What I am reading, listening to, and viewing to shape my Next thinking.
The Payoff?
“Like writing and coding before it, prompt engineering is an emergent form of thinking. It lies somewhere between conversation and query, between programming and prose. It is the one part of this fast-changing, uncertain future that feels distinctly human.” ~ Charlie Warzel, staff writer at The Atlantic, author of its newsletter Galaxy Brain.
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