by John Macdonald | Dec 3, 2025 | AI, The250
AI can be great at giving instructions and step-by-step procedures. Here’s a good template to help you get what you want: You are an expert in [the genre for your objective] and you are an experienced teacher who understands how to translate complex concepts... by John Macdonald | Dec 2, 2025 | AI, The250
Yes, LLMs hallucinate, so you might be wary of their ability to fact-check. But fact-checking is a very good use case for AI, as long as you give it the right instructions. NOTE: This approach is good for general fact-checking and fact-checking claims about... by John Macdonald | Dec 1, 2025 | AI, The250
Sometimes you want the opinions of a room full of experts. Use this pattern when you want to explore different opinions. It’s a great approach when you’re concerned about bias, require multivariable decision-making, technical troubleshooting, and strategic... by John Macdonald | Nov 30, 2025 | AI, The250
The LLM needs to know who it is. Here’s a copy/paste template for giving the AI it’s persona and expertise: You are a [primary role] with the following specific expertise:- Credential 1: [Specific qualification]- Credential 2: [Specific experience]- Credential... by John Macdonald | Nov 29, 2025 | AI, The250
A short time ago, I provided a series on how to talk to AI to get what you want out of it. Today, I start a new series that is a companion. This series focuses on the starting point for “Roles, Goals, and Structure.” A great way to start your... by John Macdonald | Nov 25, 2025 | AI, The250
A “black box” is an engineering term that means a system whose internal workings are either unknown or irrelevant. Only the inputs and outputs matter. We use it for both design and test purposes. Your car is a black box to you, the driver. You don’t need to know...