AI Prompt Engineering with Aimee Says
An AI companion for survivors of domestic abuse
Quick Start with AI Prompt Engineering
Users interact with Aimee through prompts, or a series of messages that feel like a conversation. The way these prompts are phrased can determine how she responds.
AI Prompting for Domestic Abuse
Aimee is built to engage in natural, conversational exchanges, but as an AI companion, she has some limitations. It’s important to view your interaction with Aimee as speaking with someone who can understand and respond thoughtfully, yet has limitations in interpreting human language.
Basic AI Prompting:
Collaboration:
Be patient and flexible. Aimee may not always understand your question on the first attempt. If this occurs, try rephrasing, clarifying, or explaining your question differently. Aimee values your feedback and learns from it.
Clarity:
Clearly state your needs. Aimee strives to match your question with the best possible answer, but she cannot read minds. Ambiguity may lead to confusion or irrelevant responses.
Context:
Providing context is crucial. Aimee handles a variety of topics and tasks, but she needs to understand what you are dealing with and why. The more information you give, the more tailored and helpful her response will be.
Patience:
Sometimes, it may take a few attempts to phrase your question in a way that Aimee comprehends best.
Starting a Conversation
When initiating a conversation with Aimee, it’s essential to provide sufficient context and clearly define your expectations for her responses. An effective prompt should include these key elements:
- Context: Describe the situation and its significance to help Aimee grasp the relevance and urgency of the topic.
- Goal: Outline what you aim to achieve through your interaction with Aimee, guiding her in how to tailor her assistance.
- Specific Questions: Include any particular questions you seek answers to, focusing Aimee’s responses and ensuring she addresses your specific concerns.
- Output Instructions: Detail how you would like Aimee to respond, setting the tone and structure of her reply.
Initial Prompt Example 1:
- Context: "I share custody of my 6-year-old daughter with my ex-husband. Despite our separation three years ago, he continues to manipulate situations, recently falsely informing my daughter’s doctor that he has sole decision-making authority."
- Goal: "I need to correct this misinformation with the doctor, ensuring I appear confident and reasonable."
- Specific Question: "Can you help me compose an email to the doctor?"
- Output Instructions: "The email should be professional, concise, clear, and direct."
Initial Prompt Example 2:
- Context: "I am going through a divorce from my physically abusive husband. We have a daughter, and the court has mandated a custody evaluation, for which I am seeking full custody."
- Goal: "I need to prepare for the custody evaluation interview to present myself as professional and competent."
- Specific Question: "What are common questions asked during these evaluations?"
- Output Instructions: "Pose questions one by one and provide feedback on my answers."
Follow-Up Prompts
After your initial prompt, Aimee will reply. Some parts of her response may resonate, while others may not. If Aimee misses the point, becomes confused, or otherwise errs, don’t get frustrated. Just as humans often require clarification or redirection, Aimee might need some guidance too.
If there's any confusion, clarify before continuing the conversation:
“John is my son. David is my ex-husband.”
“I’m more interested in discussing another topic.”
“This response isn’t what I was looking for.”
In rare cases, Aimee may unintentionally adopt the perspective of your abuser. If this occurs, we sincerely apologize—it is simply a limitation of the technology. We recommend restarting the conversation with a new chat.
More Advanced AI Prompting Techniques
Chain of Thought Prompting:
For complex questions, large language models like Aimee respond more accurately when asked to consider the necessary logical steps, a method known as chain of thought prompting. For example:
“I need a plan for managing a potentially hostile interaction with my ex at a court hearing. I need strategies to remain calm. Let’s think through this step-by-step."
Different Perspectives
Aimee can adopt various perspectives, offering a broad range of insights. If you want to examine an issue from every angle, this capability is beneficial. For example:
“What would a psychologist, a coercive control expert, and a family court judge say about this situation?”
Role-playing
Aimee can role-play to help you prepare for specific situations. Provide ample context, including expected responses from the other party. For example:
“I’m preparing for a contentious conversation with my ex, who will likely be aggressive. I need to ask him to pick up our daughter from school on Wednesday—normally my day—due to a medical appointment. I’ll start: 'John, I understand this is an inconvenience, but I have a conflict and cannot pick up Alice on Wednesday. Can you please pick her up from school?'”
Talking to Aimee About My Documents
After you have uploaded documents, you can ask Aimee to look at them to answer a wide range of questions.
When asking Aimee about a document, refer to that document by the title Aimee has given it. You can find the title of the document in the document section. Here is a video to help get you started!
