I’ve noticed an interesting thing when working with these Generative AI (GAI) systems. Almost a dual mode of thinking.

When you give the GAI system “space to think,” (prompt for a high entropy output), the system is incredibly creative in zero shot. It’s like how an author has a ton of creative license to tell a story.

But when you constrain the GAI system (prompt for a low entropy output, i.e. give it a specific output format or style) the one shot creativity the system has is almost none. It’s like a DMV employee — hard to be creative when you are filling out the boxes in a specific format.

But combining the two is kinda magical. You can have it generate a ton of creative output, then box that output into a similar output format to give it a standardized comparison and iterate.

The pattern of creative thought -> constrained output is a really useful one for using these GAI systems, and probably a lot of creative work.