Thread

1. saadn92 · 1790263455 · focus · HN ↗

   I'm all for saving money where you can, but these models really aren't great for learning because they love giving you answers and it's so easy to get an answer, but the process to get to the answer is how you actually learn. Unless you put guardrails in place to actually learn, I don't think this advice is good.

   1. jgbuddy · 1790263839 · focus · HN ↗

      disagree- i used it for the last few years of coursework preparing for exams. If you give it context (i'm studying for an exam, do not give hints unless asked, your objective is to help my understanding) it is incredibly helpful. This isn't advice, it's a company going out of business.

      1. LollipopYakuza · 1790264217 · focus · HN ↗

         I have recently realised that people actually don't know how to prompt. They use AI "raw" and don't understand how the question can have a drastic impact on the result, let alone using skills or system prompts.

         Learning new topics or skills is a very good example, I had the same experience as you with Claude when I learned a new language.

         1. philipwhiuk · 1790265110 · focus · HN ↗

            Maybe some argue it's ASI but for me AGI requires that the AI understand what you're trying to ask rather than require you to carefully engineer a prompt.

            1. wongarsu · 1790292070 · focus · HN ↗

               If you're starting a fresh session the AI has no context at all beyond your prompt (and the generic system prompt). It isn't psychic, it can't know if you want a straight answer, an elaborate explanation or an interactive teaching lesson. You have to actually say what you want

               I'm not a huge fan of prompt engineering or elaborate skills that are longer than a couple sentences. But you have to give the AI context. The more context the better

               1. bigstrat2003 · 1790306894 · focus · HN ↗

                  That isn't really a good defense. An intelligent creature (i.e. a human) will recognize that it lacks context, and ask probing questions to get more information. An LLM just boldly goes down a path with only a fraction of the information, which is yet another proof they aren't actually intelligent.

                  1. LollipopYakuza · 1790342034 · focus · HN ↗

                     "Thinking" models do that, now. They either search for the context (token usage goes brrr...) or ask for more information before going further.

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.