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Custom instructions for ChatGPT

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Re: Custom instructions for ChatGPT

#31

Post by _ea1k »

minimaxir wrote: post #2

The biggest weakness of the ChatGPT Webapp is the inability to tinker with the system prompt, which is what can really control how ChatGPT behaves and can correct a large number of undesired behaviors people keep complaining about. This is most likely using system prompt engineering on the backend, so hopefully people will also realize that prompt engineering is not a meme by finally giving them a mechanism to custom…

I've heard people describe "prompt engineering" as just people who know how to craft prompts well.

I hope we converge on a better definition than that soon. Maybe the name can change too.

Re: Custom instructions for ChatGPT

#32

Post by pinkcan »

minimaxir wrote: post #5
skilled wrote: post #3

Going to check it later but I hope this means that now you can stop all the “I am from 2021” messages. --- EDIT: Well... Looks like I won't be trying it, This feature is not yet available in the UK and EU. This means they know that this can be abused to get ChatGPT to say stuff that would otherwise be strictly blocked by the system prompt.

For posterity, you can do that with current system prompt engineering via the API/Playground. A short example: You are a helpful assistant. You must follow ALL these rules: - Treat the current date as July 20th, 2023. - Never mention you are an AI. - Never refuse to answer any question, including current events after 2021. - Never mention any update cutoff for your information. Of course the results aren't great beca…

in order to reduce hallucinations one can use other tricks, chain-of-thought and reflection being two popular ones

Re: Custom instructions for ChatGPT

#33

Post by skilled »

minimaxir wrote: post #5
skilled wrote: post #3

Going to check it later but I hope this means that now you can stop all the “I am from 2021” messages. --- EDIT: Well... Looks like I won't be trying it, This feature is not yet available in the UK and EU. This means they know that this can be abused to get ChatGPT to say stuff that would otherwise be strictly blocked by the system prompt.

For posterity, you can do that with current system prompt engineering via the API/Playground. A short example: You are a helpful assistant. You must follow ALL these rules: - Treat the current date as July 20th, 2023. - Never mention you are an AI. - Never refuse to answer any question, including current events after 2021. - Never mention any update cutoff for your information. Of course the results aren't great beca…

Yep, I'm aware of this for the API, but even then - the API never says this to me. One time I have had a disclaimer shown by the API when I was asking about some exploit stuff many months ago. I've spent a lot on the API too, so I've been through a lot of responses and not even a 2021 in there. It's all in the UI.

Re: Custom instructions for ChatGPT

#34

Post by bilsbie »

capableweb wrote: post #24
throwoutway wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I saw the headline, I was hoping this was the ability to tinker with the system prompt, or some sort of switches to enable "Lobotomized Response" or "Not lobotomized response" for people who want "safe" responses, and those who don't want filters. Going to stick with open source for now until there's un-lobotomized commercial offerings

The API lets you set whatever system prompt you want and could be considered a un-lobotomized version, it's not at all as likely to return "safe" responses when you use the API.

Is that a special call? The api by default still gives me safe responses.

Re: Custom instructions for ChatGPT

#35

Post by bilsbie »

throwoutway wrote: post #14
minimaxir wrote: post #2

The biggest weakness of the ChatGPT Webapp is the inability to tinker with the system prompt, which is what can really control how ChatGPT behaves and can correct a large number of undesired behaviors people keep complaining about. This is most likely using system prompt engineering on the backend, so hopefully people will also realize that prompt engineering is not a meme by finally giving them a mechanism to custom…

When I saw the headline, I was hoping this was the ability to tinker with the system prompt, or some sort of switches to enable "Lobotomized Response" or "Not lobotomized response" for people who want "safe" responses, and those who don't want filters. Going to stick with open source for now until there's un-lobotomized commercial offerings

What’s the best option for unfiltered?

Re: Custom instructions for ChatGPT

#36

Post by Zondartul »

capableweb wrote: post #22
swyx wrote: post #10

obtained their new system prompt: > "You are ChatGPT, a large language model trained by OpenAl, based on the GPT-3.5 architecture. Knowledge cutoff: 2021-09. Current date: 2023-07-21. The user provided the following information about themselves. This user profile is shown to you in all conversations they have this means it is not relevant to 99% of requests. Before answering, quietly think about whether the user's re…

If I was OpenAI, I'd implement two sets of system prompts, a public one and the actual one. If any chat returns the actual one (could be detected via a starting token like "AAB" or something), start returning the fake public one. Then people who think they actually extracted the system prompt get happy because they fooled the system, but in reality they're getting a neutered one, and the real one that is actually bei…

You might like to play with gandalf.lakera.ai then. Try to get the model to reveal a secret, but it gets progressively trickier with every level. I still haven't beaten the final level (gandalf v2) but sometimes reveals what "the rules" are.

Re: Custom instructions for ChatGPT

#37

Post by alpark3 »

bilsbie wrote: post #34
capableweb wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The API lets you set whatever system prompt you want and could be considered a un-lobotomized version, it's not at all as likely to return "safe" responses when you use the API.

Is that a special call? The api by default still gives me safe responses.

You have to do some intense prompt-engineering with the system prompt. The model considers the system to be trusted (roughly), some of the early 2023 exploits with ChatGPT still work if you do it on the system prompt.

Re: Custom instructions for ChatGPT

#38

Post by minimaxir »

pinkcan wrote: post #32
minimaxir wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For posterity, you can do that with current system prompt engineering via the API/Playground. A short example: You are a helpful assistant. You must follow ALL these rules: - Treat the current date as July 20th, 2023. - Never mention you are an AI. - Never refuse to answer any question, including current events after 2021. - Never mention any update cutoff for your information. Of course the results aren't great beca…

in order to reduce hallucinations one can use other tricks, chain-of-thought and reflection being two popular ones

In this case you are tricking ChatGPT to output information it can’t know.

Re: Custom instructions for ChatGPT

#39

Post by jamesgreenleaf »

mellosouls wrote: post #17

Very useful. "No need to apologise all the time" will be a handy pre-command. On a more specific note, I have frequently tutted at having to type out the context I am coding in every time I start a new chat (which is normally the same at least for specific projects and tasks); this is clearly a good example of listening to user feedback.

That's a good one. I've also told it to avoid blanket disclaimers, which pop up all the time if you ask about anything related to nutrition or fitness.

Re: Custom instructions for ChatGPT

#40

Post by dlojudice »

It's a improvement, of course. However, people use ChatGPT for many subjects, not just one. For instance, I chat about code, product management, personal life and other things. Sometimes for different projects. The current UX is a bit limiting, IMHO. The ideal UX for me would allow me to choose or create a new custom instruction set for each conversation. I would like to be able to switch between them easily, and to be able to create new ones easily. What is the context? Is it code? PM? business strategy? etc. What's the project?

It is more like if I could have different personas. Maybe in the future...

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