The quiet truth about AI tools

Prompt engineering isn't dead, it just grew up. The cute tricks aged badly. What's left is boring: clear input, one job, a check. The people still selling 'prompt secrets' are selling the 2023 version.

I'm not claiming this is true for everyone. It's true for me, and the version I'd tell a friend is shorter than the marketing version.

The pushback I get is always the same, and it's usually right at the edges, not the center. The center holds: the boring practice beats the clever one most days.

If you take one thing from this, let it be the unglamorous part. The flashy bit is what gets demos; the plain bit is what gets used.