Mastering the Art of Prompt Engineering in The Workplace

The world is constantly evolving and growing as we develop new technology to support our everyday needs. Artificial intelligence is a product of this growth, taking over and streamlining much of our daily operations for both business and personal needs. In order to get the most out of generative AI models, it is important to understand how and why we communicate with artificial intelligence. Doing this properly has been coined as prompt engineering, which is the art and science behind crafting an instruction or prompt that a generative AI model can then easily understand and interpret. This process yields the most effective results and is an important skill for those who work with AI frequently to possess.

It is common for professionals, especially those in related fields such as IT, to believe that there is no need for further AI education. However, studies have shown that although 81% of IT professionals think they can use AI, a staggering only 12% actually have the skills that it takes to perform prompt engineering effectively. This fact alone demonstrates the pressing need for AI literacy around the world.

As many as 2 in 3 leaders have admitted that they will not hire someone without proper AI skills. Currently, as many as 70% of global workers need to upgrade their AI skills, with 60% of IT decision makers revealing that AI constitutes their most significant skill gap. Although many professionals know the basics of using AI, it still remains true that most lack the in-depth knowledge required to advance in their careers. Most desk workers do not know how to effectively use generative AI, which hinders the value they are able to get from it and stunts their ability to leverage needed data and their sources. With a 50% hiring gap between AI jobs and AI roles, learning the ‘how’ and ‘what’ behind AI matters now more than ever.

AI prompt engineering teaches users how to think. There are several ways to structure a prompt, including but not limited to chain-of-thought, generated knowledge prompting, least to most prompting, and non-text prompting. When working with images and videos, the options expand to negative prompts, textual inversion, and prompt injection. Although these options are expensive and may seem difficult to master, there are online prompt engineering courses available to aid learners in becoming an experts. These courses aim to address the skill gaps in AI knowledge, fueling the AI revolution that is already well underway.

These online, skill-based certification programs are geared towards those in practical, in-demand professions. They are specifically designed for reskilling, upskilling, and cross-skilling. There are introductory courses offered, as well as more advanced, specific courses for tailored pathways. For example, one can take AI for Financial Management, AI for marketing, or even AI for Excel, blazing their own trail for becoming an AI expert in their respective field. In the future, courses like AI for Education, AI for Entrepreneurship, or even AI for Human Resources will also be offered. The future is bright for generative AI and the impact it will have on our society, as long as people are willing and driven to learn how to master it.