To use generative AI effectively, you still need human involvement at both the beginning and the end of the process.

AIMichelAngelo

 To start with, a human must enter a prompt into a generative model to have it create content.  

Creative prompts yield creative outputs.  

“Prompt engineer” is likely to become an established profession, at least until the next generation of even smarter AI emerges.  

The field has already led to an 82-page book of DALL-E 2 image prompts, and a prompt marketplace in which for a small fee one can buy other users’ prompts.  

Most users of these systems will need to try several different prompts before achieving the desired outcome.A collage of pictures of people

Description automatically generated 

The-DALL·E-2-prompt-book-v1.02.pdf (dallery.gallery) 

Then, once a model generates content, it will need to be evaluated and edited carefully by a human. Alternative prompt outputs may be combined into a single document. Image generation may require substantial manipulation.  

Jason Allen, who won the Colorado “digitally manipulated photography” contest with help from Midjourney, told a reporter that he spent more than 80 hours making more than 900 versions of the art, and fine-tuned his prompts over and over. He then improved the outcome with Adobe Photoshop, increased the image quality and sharpness with another AI tool, and printed three pieces on canvas. 

Source: Davenport, T. H., & Mittal, N. (2022, November 14). How Generative AI Is Changing Creative Work. Harvard Business Review.  

https://hbr.org/2022/11/how-generative-ai-is-changing-creative-work