Google brought us an Olympic-sized saga last week with its controversial Dear Sydney television commercial about a father who prompts Gemini AI to help his daughter write a fan letter. I had a visceral reaction to the spot: Why Google’s “Dear Sydney” Ad Makes Me Want to Scream. After a firestorm of criticism from news organizations such as MarketWatch, Axios, CBS News, and an uncountable number of thought leaders, pundits, and ordinary citizens, our friends in Mountain View finally pulled the spot.
But an interesting thing happened as this story went from a few industry peeps howling at the moon to a full blown tweetstorm – parenting aside, many people didn't understand why the prompt was bad.
To that end, I offer two articles to help you on your prompt crafting journey: Mastering the Art of Prompt Engineering (aka Prompt Crafting) and ChatGPT Prompt Frameworks. They will also make it instantly obvious why the prompt in Dear Sydney was, at best, doomed to offer a highly mediocre result. As always your thoughts and comments are both welcome and encouraged. Just reply to this email. -s
outside of our jurisdiction.
ABOUT SHELLY PALMER
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s “Top Voice in Technology,” he covers tech and business for Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular daily business blog. He's a bestselling author, and the creator of the popular, free online course, Generative AI for Execs. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.
