This has to be the most incoherent article I've ever read.
So long “prompt engineering,” we hardly knew ya
41–50 of 76 posts
Re: So long “prompt engineering,” we hardly knew ya
#42Prompts are programs. They take input and produce an expected output. You can parameterize them and they can be used as functions and chained together. In that way, prompt engineering is software engineering.
>> Prompts are programs. They take input and produce an expected output.
I think one key difference is that (most) programs that people are used to writing tend to be deterministic (when not intentionally random...) whereas LLM prompts pretty much always end up with an nondeterministic output.
Re: So long “prompt engineering,” we hardly knew ya
#43So, the new thing is that we're going to call everyone an engineer? Carpenter -> Wood engineer Tailor -> Fabric engineer Ceramist -> Clay engineer See how dumb it looks? And maybe the field is too new to have a specific word for it, but calling it "engineer" diminishes the level of actual engineers.
But doesn't an engineer's authority come their skill-set and not from peoples perception of them or their job title? When you say diminished, are you are talking from a societal point of view? Prompt Engineering is a fun title in a fast moving and interesting field. Everyone's taking it far too seriously. I'm going off to become a Clay Engineer, that sounds fun!
A Profession Engineer’s authority comes from their education and experience. When they stamp a design or plans, they are putting their reputation and livelihood on the line. If they are negligent, they can be sued for malpractice and may be barred from working as an Engineer in their field. If their employer asks them to do something unethical, they have a duty to refuse.
I personally think it’s worth reserving certain titles for qualified practitioners. If you want to call yourself a Doctor, Lawyer, or Engineer, I think that should mean something.
Re: So long “prompt engineering,” we hardly knew ya
#44i feel like people that get really into prompt engineering seem to forget that other people are working on building models that are even better . Do they really think that the tricks they developed to make gpt3.5 work well will still be necessary on gpt9 (or whatever new model replaces gpt)? if you want a long-lasting career in AI you need to work on the actual AI stuff, not just using the AI stuff.
> if you want a long-lasting career in AI you need to work on the actual AI stuff, not just using the AI stuff. Back in the day, when those new fangled relationship database things came on the scene, do you think people would have been well advised to try and find work on the actual database engine itself, instead of the more frivolous work of using the new technology to, say, solve actual business problems?
I see the analogy but early RDBMS had SQL.
And concepts like primary keys, normalization.
I don’t think LLM offer standardized API like that ?
Re: So long “prompt engineering,” we hardly knew ya
#45So, the new thing is that we're going to call everyone an engineer? Carpenter -> Wood engineer Tailor -> Fabric engineer Ceramist -> Clay engineer See how dumb it looks? And maybe the field is too new to have a specific word for it, but calling it "engineer" diminishes the level of actual engineers.
Calling carpenters wood engineers is pretty much warranted. There should be no engineering police that determines which jobs are allowed to carry the prestigious engineer title. Software engineering was also ridiculed for the longest time by “real” mechanical engineers.
I don't see why we have to take and muddle someone else's word, "engineer" doesn't have inherently prestigious syllables, the word sounds good when someone says it at a party because the job itself is actually hard or whatever.
If software development (or even "programming"!) is the same, the same thing will happen. If not, any other words we steal will lose their shine too and engineers will start calling themselves something else to get it back.
Re: So long “prompt engineering,” we hardly knew ya
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
Working on new LLM model is like doing genetic engineering trying to come up with a new animal species. Prompt engineering is like feeding said animal and shoveling its manure.
Which one of those folks do I pay for the hamburgers I’m having tonight?
Neither of them: you pay the owner of the farm, who pays both the scientist's and the farm boy's salaries.
Re: So long “prompt engineering,” we hardly knew ya
#47So, the new thing is that we're going to call everyone an engineer? Carpenter -> Wood engineer Tailor -> Fabric engineer Ceramist -> Clay engineer See how dumb it looks? And maybe the field is too new to have a specific word for it, but calling it "engineer" diminishes the level of actual engineers.
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Re: So long “prompt engineering,” we hardly knew ya
#48Re: So long “prompt engineering,” we hardly knew ya
#49I doubt that prompt engineering is going to go away, but it will probably change.
In a couple of years, perhaps it will come to be known as “machine psychology”?