What a silly proposal. If we could summarize our hopes and dreams into one prompt, we’d have world peace.

I think the idea of one prompt is especially dangerous in product development. Contributors to apps and service design, iterated constantly. Lots of loops to get to a solution, and then evolve the solution over time.

I like comparing the style of prompts to community development from Jane Jacobs’s, “Death and Life of Great American Cities.” 

In her diagram, Jane (as I think of her) illustrates the difference between long blocks in a city and short blocks.

I see the long blocks on the left as the major prompt and the small city blocks on the right as the iterations. And the diagram on the bottom shows a blend.

It is easy to see the seductive nature of long blocks. Jane described long blocks as [edited for length]

• Isolation & Monotony

• Dead Zones

• Reduced Connectivity

Reduced connectivity, I think it is important in our work with AI. As users, we need to have a connection to the outputs. We can’t relegate responsibility to AI.

I want a connection to the work - my ego is strong enough that I want my fingerprint on the client experience and business outcomes.

I think it is especially important that we stay connected to the work we generate with AI. AI’s ability to hallucinate, distort, and generally mislead becomes more dangerous the more we disconnect.

I am partial to short blocks - Jane persuaded me that short blocks give us more exposure to the world around us, enriching ourselves and the world we inhabit.

She described them in terms of people’s experiences. [edited for length]

• Safety & Community: interactions and safety-promoting eyes on the street.

• Pedestrian Experience: walking is interesting and providing a sense of discovery.

• Economic Vitality: create more commercial opportunities for businesses.

• Flexibility: faster, more direct movement through the city. 

By staying closer to my storytelling in AI prompts, I keep us safer, I have more fun, have versions to test with users, and can pivot easier and faster.

Long blocks have their place. I like a big swing - just not as the only way of work.