• Generate simple prompts, not complex ones.
• Make sure your request is clear and concise.
• KISS (Keep it super simple) is a great principle to follow when using AI models, like ChatGPT or DALL-E. Formulate a simple, straight forward and to the point prompt. Avoid using too complex language and sentence structure.
• Always double-check the AI outputs before using it. (large percentage of the generated content might be inaccurate)
• Be careful not to violate any copyrighted material (e.g. produced text from an older publication for the same topic) -avoid that by checking your output with a plagiarism tool.
• Make yourself familiar with best practices for data protection when working with AI models. Awareness is a crucial step to prevent any data leaks or misuse.
• There are a lot of generative AI models and tools out there, most of them directly available for usage. Each model and tool come with its own pros and cons. Please search and investigate which AI-generative model or tool will meet your purpose.
• Always make sure to carefully review the general data policy of AI tools-models, before using them.

Tips for Generative Text

• With any prompt a user should be clear and concise in what it they want the generative AI to create. For generative AI that use text-based prompts, it is useful to continually refine your wording. Start with an initial prompt and then continue to review the content produced by the generative AI and adapt your prompt to improve the output. Please consider;
• Provide additional information to AI model about your request. For example, if you are asking AI model to generate a text or revise your written text, tell the AI model what the audience is or the purpose of the output text. Suggestions to do this are;
  • Be specific – “Give me ten bullet points on…..”, or “Write 3 paragraphs on…, containing…..“ or, “In 50 words or less explain…..”
  • Have a tone – “Explain to a grade 12 student……”, “Write in a polite manner……” or “Create a calm binaural soundscape for focused study”
  • Achievable goal – “Translate text to……” or “Write a press release……” or “Explain quantum mechanics…..”
• Communicate with AI model as you do with humans. For instance, if the AI’s output is not exactly what you want, tell the AI model to revise and improve it rather than repeating your request.
• To get better results, you can ask the AI model what is needed to provide you with the best output based on your request. For example, simply adding “Tell me what else you need to do this”, or “do you have any other additional information on this” at the end of any prompt can fill in any gaps that will help the AI produce better outputs. On the page where we asked ChatGPT for considerations for AI and the GDPR, we also asked it for more considerations for responsible research aside from the GDPR.
• It can sometimes be helpful to give the AI model an alternative path, if it is unable to complete the assigned task. For example, when you are formulating a question about a piece of generated text, you might include something like “respond with ‘not found’ if the answer is not present.” This can help the model avoid generating false responses.
• When utilizing any generative AI model to generate text, it is advisable to request the references that were used in the generation of that text, and to check that the references were actually relevant to the generated material.

Tips for Generative Media

• Unlike for text generation, elaborate prompts aren’t necessarily better for image generation.
• Include keywords about how the image should be generated, such as;
  • Image qualities (e.g. beautiful or high definition)
  • Objects that should be in the picture
  • Lighting and colors
  • Style (e.g. genre, art movement, technique, artist, specific work)
• Word order affects the final generated output. A good practice is to place the important elements of your desired output at the beginning of the prompt and leave the details before the end of your prompt.
• Always search for any AI distortions in the AI generated output (e.g. if people have 4 fingers instead of 5, garbled face characteristics etc.).

Do you have more tips or guidelines, please submit them here: