You All Overcomplicate This Stuff
I've been lurking in this and related subs for a while, and I'm constantly dumbfounded by how much people overcomplicate things (no disrespect intended, I'm not trying to have a personal go at anyone, but the collective mindset here is wild).
You can literally start a prompt with: "I don't know how to describe what I want, so I'm just going to do a brain dump." Then, just type a complete stream of consciousness about your idea and what you want to achieve, without worrying about rhyme or reason. Finish it off with: "I know I've probably contradicted myself and that this is vague. Ask me clarifying questions to ensure we're on the same page."
From there, it's smooth sailing. Because I have ADHD, I usually add: "I don't handle massive blocks of questions well, so keep them easy to answer. Step-by-step follow-up questions are totally fine."
I work in a very niche AI sector, and I can't begin to describe the amount of work I get done in a single day that would otherwise take a team weeks to clear. I use it to convert scoping session transcripts into actionable technical scopes, documentation, and client follow-ups, which are then translated into micro-steps for me or my developers.
Stop overcomplicating it. Just talk to the model. Be honest with it instead of trying to manipulate it with complex prompt engineering. Remind it to ask you clarifying questions when you don't know how to explain what the end goal looks like.
All that being said, buried amongst the slop and benchmark crap, there is the occasional nugget of gold I find and incorporate into what I do. For the most part though, it is just so much blah blah blah. I can't help but think that if people actually tried to work with the AI model instead of constantly challenging it to prove it wrong, they might actually get what they want out of it.
Instead, it often feels like a lot of users here act like the type of manager who shits all over everything their employees create, completely ignoring the fact that the original specs they provided were shit to begin with.
Full Disclosure: I used AI to "fix the grammar, phrasing, and flow" before posting this.