Predict AI failure modes before task

Use this prompt to make ChatGPT forecast its own potential failures before starting a task, helping you patch instruction gaps upfront.

🤖 Works with: ChatGPT

The Prompt

Copy and paste — replace anything in [brackets].

Before you do the task I'm about to give you, do this first. Predict how you're most likely to fail at it. Give me the top five ways this goes wrong: where you'll probably misunderstand me, what you'll likely assume that I didn't say, where you tend to get generic or hedge, and what part of this is genuinely hard for a model like you. For each failure, tell me the one instruction I could add that would prevent it. Then wait. Don't do the task until I've responded. The task: [paste it]

What it’s good for

Improve prompt reliability by having the AI anticipate and suggest fixes for potential misunderstandings before executing a task.

How to use it

1. Paste the prompt above into ChatGPT, replacing [paste it] with your actual task.
2. Review the failure modes and prevention tips the AI provides.
3. Refine your original prompt based on the feedback, then give the go-ahead.

Curated from the community via Reddit.