Pablo Rodríguez

“I have a strong intuition that this code is of poor quality. Please tear it to shreds and tell me all the ways it sucks.” (yes, that’s my actual prompt)

Tell it to flag any place where you’ve gone 10 lines without a comment. Demand strict readability.

You are an experienced software engineer experienced with our codebase. Read this document and the files it references and tell me: Does it absolutely have all the information you would require to successfully implement this feature in your first pass?”

“Assume the role of an expert technical reviewer. Read this design doc and all the files it references. Tell me all the things I missed, all the faulty assumptions, all the edge cases I’m missing, and things I should have considered but did not. Every mistake and ambiguity you find makes you more helpful and useful.”

“Based on your understanding of the codebase and what we discussed, I would like you to give me a first draft proposal of a technical implementation to actually make this feature happen. I’m not looking for code. I want prose from you that demonstrates your understanding of my system. Short blocks of pseudocode are fine if you think that will help,... See more

I do not want you to create code. We are not going to create code. Resist your impulse to create code. Instead, we are going to have a design discussion. I am about to describe a feature. I want you to ask me clarifying questions and challenge my assumptions. Do not just accept what I say.”

If we are early in our careers our employer has wagered that we have the ability to rapidly acquire good judgment in our particular work domain. If we are later in our careers then the company has hired us to exercise the judgment we have already accumulated for its benefit and to help others acquire judgment of their own.

These models (at least at... See more

“Thank you for your questions but I think our description is now complete. I will be giving this description to a researcher with whom I have never worked before. I need to know that I can trust the quality of the report after they have produced it. I would like you to now adopt the persona of an expert skeptical fact checker. I would like to have... See more

“When you agree with me you are not being helpful. You are most helpful when you challenge my thinking and force me to think about the edges of my problem”

I want to buy a new car. Since this will cost me a lot of money it’s very important that I make an informed and well reasoned decision. I have thought about my needs for this new car but I am certain that I am missing critical aspects. I will tell you what I’ve come up with so far and your job is to keep asking me clarifying questions until I tell... See more