A tryst with Prompt Engineering

A tryst with Prompt Engineering

The term "Prompt Engineering" has been gaining popularity on the internet, especially with the recent advancements in AI acceleration. This has led some people to consider it as a viable career option.

Personally, I have created a Django REST API that allows users to input information about villains, including their names, alias, and accomplishments. However, I wanted to take it a step further and add a backstory to each villain. To achieve this, I decided to utilize GPT-3, which generates stories based on the provided prompts.

I am going to do real-time prompt engineering this and write about it here.

Goal: To generate the backstory for the villain using GPT-3.

Prompt #1:

Prompt: Generate a backstory for the villain named, "Dr Tye Lookberg" who goes by the alias "Dr Monster"

Output:

Dr Tye Lookberg was once a respected and accomplished scientist, who had always been driven by a fierce curiosity and a desire to push the boundaries of what was known. He had a brilliant mind and a sharp wit, and his research had led to countless breakthroughs in the field of genetics.

However, despite his success, Dr Lookberg had always felt a deep sense of dissatisfaction with the limits of human knowledge. He became obsessed with the idea that there must be more to life than what science could explain, and he began to explore the darker corners of his field in search of answers.

Over time, Dr Lookberg's research took a disturbing turn. He became fixated on the idea of creating a new species of beings, one that would be superior to humans in every way. He believed that only by transcending the limits of biology could he truly understand the mysteries of the universe.

As he delved deeper into his work, Dr Lookberg began to lose sight of his humanity. He experimented recklessly, using his own body as a test subject and pushing the boundaries of what was ethical and safe. His colleagues grew concerned, but he ignored their warnings, convinced that he was on the verge of a major breakthrough.

Eventually, Dr Lookberg succeeded in creating a new form of life, a hybrid creature that was part human, part animal, and part machine. But the experiment went horribly wrong, and the creature turned on him, attacking him and leaving him scarred and disfigured.

Consumed by rage and a desire for revenge, Dr Lookberg embraced his new identity as "Dr Monster," using his genius to wreak havoc on the world that had rejected him. He became a twisted parody of the brilliant scientist he once was, using his knowledge to create new and ever-more-terrifying monsters that he unleashed on the world.

As you can see this is too long of a backstory. We want to make it concise.

Prompt #2:

Prompt: Generate a backstory for the villain named, "Mr Diddy Longform" who goes by the alias "Rogue Monkey", make it concise and bridge the relation between the alias and the story.

Output:

Mr Diddy Longform was once a successful businessman with a passion for exotic animals. He used his wealth to collect and trade in rare and dangerous creatures, but his obsession with owning more and more led him to break the law. When he was caught smuggling animals, he was publicly shamed and lost everything.

Determined to get revenge on those who had humiliated him, he adopted the alias "Rogue Monkey" and turned to a life of crime. His new name reflects both his love of exotic animals and his rebellious, unpredictable nature. He became a master thief, using his knowledge of animals to pull off daring heists that left authorities baffled. Over time, he amassed a fortune and became one of the most feared and respected criminal masterminds in the world.

It is still longer than I expected, plus the alias and the story have a loosely coupled relationship.

Prompt #3:

Prompt: Generate a backstory for the villain named, "Mr Heerabhai Patel" who goes by the alias "Diamond Strangler", make it concise and have a strong co relation between the alias and the story.

Output:

Mr Heerabhai Patel was once a diamond dealer with a passion for expensive jewels. He was highly respected in the industry and had a reputation for being ruthless in business. However, his love of wealth led him to commit a heinous crime - he strangled a rival dealer to death with a diamond necklace.

The incident earned him the nickname "Diamond Strangler," and he fled the country to escape justice. He continued to pursue his love of expensive jewels, but he did so through illegal means. He became a notorious criminal, known for his ruthless tactics and his obsession with diamonds.

The name "Diamond Strangler" reflects both his past crime and his love of jewels. He sees himself as a predator, choking the life out of those who stand in his way, and his thirst for wealth is as strong as ever. He is a master thief, using his knowledge of diamonds to pull off daring heists and leaving authorities stumped as to his whereabouts.

The story seems legit now, but it is still too long to store, a summary or a shortened version of it will be a deal maker.

Prompt #4:

Prompt: Generate a backstory for the villain named, "Sir Johnathan Cobbler" who goes by the alias "The Mud Man", make it concise and have a strong co relation between the alias and the story, keep the length of the story under 360 characters.

Output:

Sir Johnathan Cobbler was a wealthy landowner obsessed with creating the perfect garden. He dug too deep, struck a vein of mud that poisoned his land and destroyed his crops. Bankrupt and furious, he retreated into his estate and became a recluse. Over time, he emerged as "The Mud Man," a monster born of his own failures, terrorizing the locals and seeking to infect and corrupt everything he touched.

As you can see the story is shortened but the total length is 403 characters hence it hasn't strictly adhered to the limit mentioned. But I can work with that.

The next part will be to create an image using the name, alias, and backstory. Man, this is so much fun.

Fin.