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Published: Jan 17, 2023

Unlock ChatGPT’s Superpowers: A Beginner’s Guide to Control Codes

Table of Contents

Introduction to ChatGPT

ChatGPT, or “Conversational Generative Pre-training Transformer,” is a state-of-the-art language generation model developed by OpenAI. It is capable of understanding and responding to human language input, making it a powerful tool for various applications.

One of the key capabilities of ChatGPT is its ability to generate human-like text, which can be used in a variety of ways. For example, it can be used to create chatbots for customer service, generate content for websites and social media, and even assist with writing tasks such as composing emails and creating documents. Additionally, it has been used in a wide range of industries, from education and healthcare to finance and e-commerce.

Overall, ChatGPT is a versatile and powerful tool that can help businesses and individuals automate language-based tasks and improve communication with customers, clients and other stakeholders. Its natural language generation abilities make it a valuable asset for content creation, customer service and more.

Understanding the basics of prompting ChatGPT

When working with ChatGPT, it’s important to understand the importance of clear and specific prompts. A well-crafted prompt is key to getting accurate and relevant results from the model.

For example, a bad prompt would be something like “Write something about dogs“. This prompt is too broad and doesn’t give the model enough information to generate a specific response. In contrast, a good prompt would be something like “What are the different breeds of dogs and their characteristics?” This prompt is specific and clear, which allows the model to generate a more accurate and relevant response.

It’s also important to note that longer prompts tend to yield better results as they can provide more context for the model to work with. This is why a good prompt is often more specific and longer than a bad prompt.

Here’s an example:

Bad prompt:Write a story

Good prompt:Write a science fiction story about a group of humans travelling to a new planet to start a colony, with a twist ending

As you can see the second prompt is much more specific and provides the model with more information to generate an accurate and relevant story.

In summary, when working with ChatGPT, it’s crucial to provide clear and specific prompts in order to get the best results from the model. A well-crafted prompt can make all the difference in the accuracy and relevance of the output.

Unlocking ChatGPT’s advanced features

One of the most powerful features of ChatGPT is the ability to customize the output using control codes. These codes can be used to change the style, tone, or format of the generated text. This allows you to fine-tune the model’s output to suit your specific needs.

For example, you can use control codes to generate text in a specific style, such as a poem or a news article. By providing the model with specific control codes, you can shape the output to match the desired style.

Here’s an example of using control codes to generate a poem:

Prompt:Write a poem about the beauty of nature
Control code:poem: true

Output: Nature’s beauty is a sight to behold,
With colours that shine and stories untold.
Trees reach high, mountains stand tall,
Waterfalls cascade, and rivers enthrall.

And in the night, stars twinkle bright,
Guiding us through the darkest light.
Nature’s symphony plays on and on,
A wonder to behold, forever strong.

As you can see, by using the “poem: true” control code, the model generated a poem that matches the style of a poem, in this case, it’s a rhyming poem.

Similarly, you can use control codes to generate text in the style of a news article (“article: true”), a legal document (“legal_brief: true“), a recipe (recipe: true), a story (story: true) etc.

Using Control Codes to Generate Different Text Styles

One of the most powerful features of control codes is the ability to use the same input to generate text in different styles. For example, let’s take the input “Strawberry marmalade“.

Using the control code “poem: true“, the generated text might be a poem about strawberry marmalade:

Strawberry red and sweet and tart,
Marmalade on toast, a work of art.
Spread it thick, or spread it thin,
A taste of summer, on a winter grin.

Using the control code “recipe: true“, the generated text might be a recipe for strawberry marmalade:

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. strawberries
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice

Directions:

  1. Hull and chop the strawberries.
  2. In a medium saucepan, combine the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice.
  3. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the mixture thickens.”

Using the control code “legal_brief: true” the generated text might be a legal brief discussing the patent infringement of a company using the name “Strawberry Marmalade” for their product:

“Plaintiff, XYZ Corporation, has filed a complaint against Defendant, ABC Company, for alleged patent infringement. The patent in question pertains to the use of the name “Strawberry Marmalade” for a product in the food and beverage industry. It is our argument that the name “Strawberry Marmalade” is a common term in the industry and thus cannot be patented by Plaintiff.

As these examples illustrate, control codes can be used to generate vastly different types of text from the same input, depending on the specific genre, style, or other conditions specified in the control codes.

It’s important to note that the chat interface on https://chat.openai.com/ is in constant development and the functionality may change over time. So, it’s always best to check the documentation on the website to confirm the current functionality and how to use the control codes with the chat interface.

Conclusion:

ChatGPT is a very powerful language generation model that can be used for a wide range of applications – both personal and business related. By understanding the basics of prompting and using control codes to customize the output, you can get the most out of the model. It’s important to remember that clear and specific prompts are key to getting accurate and relevant results from ChatGPT.

As you experiment with ChatGPT and its advanced features, you’ll find that it can be a valuable tool for automating language-based tasks and improving communication in various fields. The possibilities are endless, so don’t be afraid to explore and test the different ways ChatGPT can be used to benefit you or your business.

Laibrary-org-Jasper3

Jasper Noer

As Head of Content at Laibrary.org, I'm in charge of picking the crème de la crème of AI tools and applications. It's tough work, but someone's gotta do it! When I'm not searching the web for the latest AI innovations, you can find me trying to teach my parakeet to code (no luck so far)."