There are many ways to use generative AI to help us as instructors and as lawyers. Whether and how to use generative AI is something for each of use to decide. My goal is to share just a handful of suggestions that I have gleaned from other sources.

Conversations, not queries. ChatGPT and similar programs provide better responses when they are given the context for questions and instructions. Tell the chatbot why you are asking the questions, what you want to do with the information, and what kind of output you would like. I often write “what about …” to prompt the chatbot to include more information.

Threads. ChatGPT will become more helpful the more it understands why you are pursuing a particular line of questions or instructions. Within a thread, once you have given ChatGPT the context, you will not have to restate it. For example, I have threads about the International Criminal Court, the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, and how to use WordPress. Any time I have a question about one of those topics, I go back to the appropriate thread.

Ask for help. When you ask a question, also ask the chatbot what else it needs to know to answer the question or follow your instructions.

Better prompts. The better your prompts are, the better the responses will be.

a. Act as if: This tells the chatbot to act like an expert on that subject. For example, if you tell it to act as if it’s an expert on legal ethics, it is more likely to quickly focus on the Model Rules than if you omit this context.
b. Explain it to me like I’m …: I use this when something is either too complex or too simple. If you tell the chatbot to explain it like you’re in middle school, it will use simplified language. If you ask it to explain it like you’re a law student, it will use more complex language and supply more details.
c. Let’s take it step by step: This can help reduce internal contradictions and hallucinations (made-up facts). This also leads to more thorough answers.
d. Is there anything else I should know: I use this to get more complete and complex answers.
e. Set parameters: If you ask a chatbot to draft something, tell it the tone you want it to use, what the product will be used for, and who the audience is.

Help with hypos. I have found that if I paste in an complex hypo that I use in class (or as an in-class assignment), I can ask the chatbot to generate a new hypo with the same complexity, that tests the same issues, but with different facts. The first response is always too similar to the original, but I have found that if I ask it one or two more times and say “that’s too similar to the original,” the final result looks new and is helpful.