All posts tagged: prompt

How to prompt Copilot or ChatGPT to accurately troubleshoot your PC – without the AI overconfidence

How to prompt Copilot or ChatGPT to accurately troubleshoot your PC – without the AI overconfidence

Published by skeptic

Photo by Ed Bott One of the most obvious cases for an AI chatbot is to help you figure out why your PC or Mac is acting up and, more importantly, suggest how to get things working properly again. I’ve done plenty of AI troubleshooting, and my experiences have been erratic, to say the least. Occasionally, the chatbot nails the problem with a sensible answer and a straightforward discussion. But, just as often, the result is frustrating and unproductive. The chatbot keeps confidently suggesting answers that turn out to be wrong. Is it my fault? Are AI chatbots from Mars and humans from Venus? Are we having a failure to communicate? Also: How to check your Windows PC for expiring security certificates – a big one ends in June Finally, it dawned on me: Why not ask the chatbot how to ask questions in a way that maximizes the likelihood of getting useful results? So I asked Copilot (which uses ChatGPT under the hood) to sit down for some questions and answers. It turned out …

Ukrainian attacks prompt Russian-held Crimea to halt civilian gasoline sales : NPR

Ukrainian attacks prompt Russian-held Crimea to halt civilian gasoline sales : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

In this photo provided by Ukraine’s 65th Mechanized Brigade press service, a soldier practices military skills at a training ground near the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Saturday, June 20, 2026. Andriy Andriyenko/Ukrainian 65 Mechanized brigade/AP hide caption toggle caption Andriy Andriyenko/Ukrainian 65 Mechanized brigade/AP Officials in Russia-occupied Crimea suspended civilian gasoline sales Sunday as Ukraine ramped up attacks on fuel supplies on the Black Sea peninsula. Gov. Sergey Aksyonov, the Kremlin-appointed head of Crimea, said that overnight Ukrainian strikes killed four people and wounded 28 others. He did not specify the target of the attack. He later wrote on social media that local gas stations would halt all sales to non-state companies and individuals for an undefined period. “Fuel will be sold only to government agencies that ensure the functioning and security of the Republic of Crimea,” Aksyonov said. “I ask everyone to remain calm and to only trust official sources of information.” Ukrainian forces have repeatedly targeted fuel supplies to Crimea in recent weeks, triggering the worst energy crisis in the region …

Ongoing SATs marking delays prompt nationalisation call

Ongoing SATs marking delays prompt nationalisation call

Published by skeptic

SATs markers were this week scrambling to get through tens of thousands of questions after an already-extended deadline passed, prompting calls for the assessment series to be nationalised. Contractor Pearson called on maths markers to help get through the outstanding grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS) tests, in what has been described as an “omnishambles”. It follows weeks of technical glitches on the new ModMark marking platform created by the exams giant, which took over the £180 million SATs contract from outsourcer Capita this year. Source link

I changed how I prompt NotebookLM and my audio overviews immediately sounded more interesting

I changed how I prompt NotebookLM and my audio overviews immediately sounded more interesting

Published by skeptic

I’ve been tempted to subscribe to book summarization apps like BeFreed. They turn nonfiction into byte-sized audiobooks and make learning on the go easier. Taking that idea further, I thought about “duplicating” that utility by prompting NotebookLM’s Audio Overview more intentionally. I tested this on a specific NotebookLM book that compiles research on how intentional noticing combats emotional numbness. I didn’t go with the default Audio Overview; instead, I dove into its Customize field under the hood. It’s not a spoiler to say that I got better results. Related I’ve been using NotebookLM’s Audio Overview wrong — this is what it’s actually good for You’ve been selling Audio Overviews short this whole time. The default overview is a missed opportunity Give your podcast a detailed brief Saikat Basu/MakeUseOf NotebookLM’s Audio Overview generates a podcast-styled summary of your sources without your intervention. The default output has a host chatting in a breezy style. Think of this as a rough cut, which gives you reasonable coverage of your sources. The customization field is one of NotebookLM’s settings …

OpenAI unveils Lockdown Mode to protect sensitive data from prompt injection attacks

OpenAI unveils Lockdown Mode to protect sensitive data from prompt injection attacks

Published by skeptic

OpenAI announced a new feature that it says will provide additional protection from prompt injection attacks, where malicious chatbot instructions are hidden in webpages and other content sources. Among other things, Lockdown Mode will disable live web browsing (so you can only access cached content), the retrieval and display of images from the web (you can still generate images), deep research, and agent mode. The company says that even with Lockdown Mode turned on, ChatGPT could still be vulnerable to prompt injections — which could, for example, “appear in cached web content or in an uploaded file, and could still affect the behavior or accuracy of a response.” But the goal is to reduce the likelihood that sensitive data gets shared in the process. “Lockdown Mode is not intended for everyone,” OpenAI says. “It is designed for people and organizations that handle sensitive data and want stricter protection from data exfiltration risks related to prompt injection.” The company says it’s currently rolling Lockdown Mode out to self-serve ChatGPT Business accounts, as well as eligible personal …

I compared ChatGPT and Gemini’s AI image generation – and a single prompt tweak made a big difference

I compared ChatGPT and Gemini’s AI image generation – and a single prompt tweak made a big difference

Published by skeptic

Kerry Wan and Tharon Green/ZDNET Stay ahead of tech news with Tech Today, delivered to your inbox every morning. Welcome to Prompt of the Day, where we show you an AI prompt you can use for work, play, or anything in between, sourced from our community of AI experts and professionals.  Also: Compare new models with our AI Model Release Tracker Struggling to use AI image generators? Today’s prompt comes from ZDNET contributor Lance Whitney, who suggests letting a chatbot design the perfect image-creating query for its corresponding generator.  Prompt:  I would like to create an image of a sunflower made of sheet metal in a pencil drawing style. Generate a prompt that I can use to request this image from [Nano Banana or ChatGPT Images].  The process is simple: “In my prompt, I supply just the basic details of what I want and then ask the AI to generate a full prompt based on that,” Whitney said.  Another benefit: When chatbots design their own image prompts, they avoid including language that the generator might flag …

Why prompt debt, retrieval debt, and evaluation debt are quietly reshaping enterprise AI risk

Why prompt debt, retrieval debt, and evaluation debt are quietly reshaping enterprise AI risk

Published by skeptic

Over the past two decades, technical debt meant outdated architecture, messy code, and poorly maintained documentation. That definition is no longer sufficient in the AI era, where failure modes are more subtle and often non-linear. AI systems are introducing new layers of technical debt that live across prompts, models, and data dependencies — making these layers less visible, harder to measure, and often more dangerous than traditional debt. A crisis hiding in plain sight The complexities of AI systems and their associated failures have been well documented. A 2025 MIT study found that 95% of AI projects fail to reach production or deliver value. A similar study by S&P Global Market Intelligence found that 42% of businesses scrapped multiple AI initiatives in 2025 — a sharp increase from 17% the previous year. Various reasons are cited for these failures, but most of them point to poorly designed and implemented systems that are complex to manage and have multiple hard-to-monitor failure points, leading to a rapid accumulation of AI debt.  Traditional technical debt was localized to …

Married at First Sight allegations prompt government to warn of ‘consequences’

Married at First Sight allegations prompt government to warn of ‘consequences’

Published by Sam Flores

There must be “consequences for criminality or wrongdoing”, the government has said, after two women alleged they were raped during filming of Married at First Sight UK (MAFS UK). Channel 4 has said “very serious allegations of wrongdoing” have been made against a small number of past participants in the reality TV series. The broadcaster said it had removed all previous seasons of MAFS UK from its streaming platforms. The move follows an external review, commissioned by the broadcaster in April, into the welfare of participants on the programme. The BBC has reported allegations from two women who alleged they were raped during filming of the show. A third described an allegation of a non-consensual sex act. They all alleged the show did not do enough to protect them. The government has said all the allegations must be investigated and that “there are consequences for criminality or wrongdoing”. Shona Manderson – the third of the three women making allegations about their time on the Channel 4 show, and the only one who is named – …

Is Europe getting its act together on defence? Multiple threats prompt EU rearmament – Talking Europe

Is Europe getting its act together on defence? Multiple threats prompt EU rearmament – Talking Europe

Published by Sam Flores

The European Union is aiming to boost its defence capacities as part of a plan first called ReArmEU, when it was presented just over a year ago, and now known as Readiness 2030. This as European intelligence agencies warn that the bloc could face some form of major conflict by that date. Various threats have shifted the EU mindset when it comes to security: the war in Ukraine, of course, but also US President Donald Trump’s intimidation of fellow NATO members, plus the war in the Middle East. But concrete action has been hampered by fragmented defence markets, industrial rivalries and different procurement systems. In this episode we look at what more the EU can do – and how it can inject more efficiency and common sense into what it is already doing. Programme prepared by Perrine Desplats, Isabelle Romero and Oihana Almandoz Talking Europe © FRANCE 24 Source link