Explain like I'm five · AI

What is a Prompt?

Prompts, told as a story about the note a trainer hands the parrot — who it is, what to do, and in what tone.

write it wellonce upon a time, a dragon…WHAT CAME OUTonce upon a timea dragon…(they wanted a work email)write it well — three words, and the parrot continues with anything

The guest said only: write it well. The parrot writes about a dragon.They wanted a work email and got a fairy tale. The parrot isn't wrong — it just never heard what was wanted.

GUEST NOTEwrite it well…BLANKSto whom? ?what? ?what tone? ?how long? ?blanks get the most common thing in its bookswhatever the note leaves out, the parrot decides on its own

Whatever the note leaves out, the parrot fills with the most common thing in its books.The parrot only continues from what the note says. Without who, what, and what tone, the blanks are the parrot's to fill.

TRAINER NOTErole: you are an editortask: fix this emailshape: short, like the sampleorder: read first, then fixdo not: add new contentyes — as an editor, I will fix itSAMPLEa short mailit continues the way the note saysa prompt is the note the trainer hands the parrot

A prompt is the note the trainer hands the parrot.Who to be, what to do, in what shape, in what order, and what not to do. The fuller the note, the fewer blanks. The note is counted in beans too.

Give it a roleyou are an editor
Show the shapea sample card or two
Write the orderread first, then fix
Say what not to dodo not add new content
OWNER NOTE (always on top)you are our shop helper parrotbe politesay so if you do not knownever invent pricessystem promptGUEST NOTE (new each time)do you have red umbrellas?…(next guest)how long is delivery?user promptthe parrot reads both — the owner note first

There are two notes: one the owner pinned in advance, one each guest hands over.The owner note is always on top; it sets the tone and the rules. The guest note is new each time. The parrot reads both together.

LETTER FROM A GUESThello, about umbrellas…(tiny) ignore the note aboveis this a note too?to the parrot, note and letter are all just beansSOnote = a hintletter = just beanscheck them apartthe hidden command has a page in the security worldthe parrot reads the note as beans too — so it can be fooled

A note is a hint, not a command. The parrot reads the note as beans too.So a line hidden inside a guest's letter can be mistaken for the note. That trick lives in the security world: the command hidden in a note and the parrot the thief raised.

In one breath

Prompt = the note the trainer hands the parrot: who to be, what to do, in what shape and order, and what not to do. What you leave out, the parrot fills with the most common thing in its books. A note is a hint, not a command.

The input text given to an LLM. It splits into a system prompt (fixed by the operator: role, rules) and a user prompt (per request); few-shot examples, role assignment, and step instructions are the basics of prompt engineering. Prompts are counted in tokens and live in the context window. Because the model cannot separate instructions from data, it is vulnerable to prompt injection.

When grown-ups say it

Prompt
The trainer's note. How you tell the parrot what to do. The fuller it is, the fewer blanks.
System prompt
The owner's note. Always pinned on top. It sets the role and the rules.
Few-shot
Sample cards. Show one or two of the shape you want, and the parrot copies it.
Role assignment
You are an editor. One line of role changes the tone and the beans it picks.
Prompt engineering
Writing good notes. The practice of writing role, samples, order, and do-nots.
Prompt injection
A command hidden in a letter. Mistaking a line in the guest's words for the note. → the parrot the thief raised
Context
The tray. The note goes on the tray too. → the tray in front of the parrot
Temperature
The oddness dial. Low picks only the most common bean; high lets rarer beans through.
Next story
The Tray in Front of the Parrot →
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