Bill Gates recently stated in his blog that, for him, ChatGPT, the chatbot created by OpenAI, constituted the second “breakthrough demonstration” in technological terms since the creation of the graphical user interface that gave rise to Windows. This tool also represents the potential of generative artificial intelligence, capable of producing texts, in this case, but also images and even music.
The craft of AI. This has given rise to all kinds of speculation about the future of professions linked to areas such as communication or art. However, the reality is that instead of eliminating jobs, it is creating them. We are talking about ‘prompts’ engineers, whose demand by AI companies is increasing and whose training is not exclusively technological.
Engineers wanted. As recently reported by Bloomberg, the demand by firms specializing in generative AI, specifically in the Large Language Models (LLMs) program, has increased so much that jobs are already being offered as a prompt engineer whose salary amounts to 335,000 dollars a year. Such is the case of a job posting posted by Anthropic in Lever looking for someone to fill the position of “prompt engineer and librarian” whose salary ranges from $175,000 to $335,000.
AI refinement. The IE Business School defines ‘prompt’ engineering as the process of designing and adjusting the text inputs (‘prompts’, in English) for an AI that uses LLMs with the aim of “optimizing their performance and improving the quality of the answers”. In other words, ‘prompts’ engineers are dedicated to perfecting the instructions written by users so that the AI provides the most accurate responses.
Training in history or philosophy. The rise of chatbots has triggered the demand for these engineers necessary for this process of designing and adjusting ‘prompts’. One such professional is Albert Phelps, a prompts engineer at Mudano, an Accenture-owned data consultancy. Phelps, who studied history at the University of Warbick and later trained in AI, told Bloomberg that it’s very common to find prompt engineers who have backgrounds in fields like “history, philosophy or English because it’s a play on words.”
Conversations with the AI. In this sense, Phelps indicated that the task of the ‘prompts’ engineer is “to synthesize the essence or meaning of something in a limited number of words”. In his case, the historian pointed out that he writes five different ‘prompts’ daily throughout fifty interactions with ChatGPT. In this way it is possible to polish the rigor and accuracy of the AI responses. “Like an AI charmer,” Phelps said, comparing the work of this type of engineer to that of snake hypnotists.
A somewhat controversial market. Another example of the rise of ‘prompt’ engineering is Promptbase, an online platform where these professionals sell ‘prompts’ created by themselves and that can be used in text-generative AI, such as ChatGPT, or images, such as Midjourney. This latest AI, however, has recently come under fire from some artists who claim that Midjourney’s creations plagiarize their own artistic styles, as recently reported by France 24.
In expansion. For Mark Standen, an expert in AI, the growth of this profession is probably “the fastest movement in the information technology industry” for 25 years, as reported by Bloomberg. It is proof of how technological development questions certain prevailing practices and offers new ways to execute certain processes, which can translate into job creation, as in the case of ‘prompt’ engineers.
Finally, over time, a legal framework will be created that minimizes the negative effects of generative AI, such as its environmental impact, and increases its enormous advantages.
Imagen: Levart_Photographer / Unsplash
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