AI may have advanced much quicker than anticipated over the past few months but it is still not without its flaws.
Hallucination remains a major flaw of artificial intelligence. Hallucination is when an AI system, often due to lack of information, generates incorrect information and treats it as facts. It is when the AI goes off the rails and simply makes up stuff.
Sometimes, this AI hallucination will often be down to the prompts we give it. In that case, here is how to reduce the chances of that happening.
1. Give clear and specific prompts
AI currently is not well advanced enough to understand nuances. Thus, when giving prompts, then making your prompts as clear and specific as possible will give you the best results.
For example, rather than asking it to provide you with answers to questions, you can give it a list of specific options. This will make it easier for the AI to select the right choice.
2. Pack in relevant data or sources you want
Grounding when talking about AI refers to the technique of helping AI generate more specific and correct answers by providing it with a source or data you want your answer from.
For example, one of the most common ways of grounding is asking the AI to give answers according to a certain source.
For example, if you want to know more about, let’s say, the American XL Bully, then to ground your prompt, you will ask the AI, ‘What are the physical and temperamental characteristics of the American XL Bully according to Junglebullies.com?’
By adding that according to, you reduce the chances of the AI hallucinating.
Assign it roles
Assigning certain roles to the AI has also been shown to reduce instances of AI hallucination.
For example, when you want the AI to give you a scientifically accurate science answer, you can start your prompt by saying, ‘You are the best scientist in the world; how would you do abc’. Or if you want a historically accurate answer, you ask it, ‘As one of the best historians in the world, how would you describe the history of the U.S’
Assigning it roles gives it more guidance on what to look for.
Tell it what you want/don’t want
Being specific in what you want or don’t want can also stop the AI from hallucinating. For example, when giving it a prompt, you can give it an option to say ‘I don’t know’ if it has no idea about something.
AI has come a long way, but it is not without its failings and thus, how to ask your prompts can go a long way in helping you use it with the best results.
