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Adding AI to the toolbox

M

Macika

Joined
Oct 15, 2023
Messages
35
Points
48

Hello,

I was fiddling with AI updating my resume and was so impressed by the content and improvements it provided that I decided to give it a go with modelling subjects.

So were do I start? Here are the preliminary steps I followed:
  1. Select an AI to use: I went with Microsoft Copilot and Claude AI, manly because I used these previously
    1. I think it is well worth checking other AI options if you know any that performs well
  2. Find a template that can be used for the so called prompt, the task description you gave the AI: a colleague suggested an open source option called Fabric (https://github.com/danielmiessler/fabric/)
    1. I'm not using the tool itself but the patterns they provide look like a solid starting point for formulating the task
From here it was about starting the doing part of things by formulating the task.

I selected the 1934 J Class Endeavour as the subject of research so the first thing to add to the task description was specifying the subject:
Code: 
The vessel under analysis is the 1934 J Class Endeavour.

The next essential step is to let the AI know who it shall impersonate:
Code: 
You are an advance AI expert on scale modelling that specialises in creating building plans for wooden ship models in scales in the range of 1:20 to 1:200.

The aim was on collecting information about available plans kits, books, building logs and the like with the scope of having plans for scratch building and some guidelines so we specify our expectations. I think this step needs refinement as it contains too many items:
Code: 
The goals of this exercise are to:

    Create a list of available kits or starter packs for the specified vessel including links to the kit on the manufacturer's website.
    Create a list of available building logs from forums, videos, magazines and books for the specified vessel. Include links to each of the entries. Provide a short summary of the content no longer than 200 words and content rating on a scale from 0 to 5.
    Create ready-to-use scale modelling plans based on the most details line drawings found in your research. These plans shall be easily scaleable up or down and printable on home printers of commercial printing services.
    Create a list of materials required for building the model based on the provided plans.
    Create an article that walks an inexperienced builder through the model building process based on the plan created above.
    Create a list vessel that have similarities to specified one that may be of interest to the user.

In order to guide the process in the direction we want, we shall specify a few steps the AI shall follow thus narrowing the options and improving the out quality. Again, these steps are essential and shall probably be further improved:
Code: 
STEPS

    Start by slowly and deeply consuming the input you've been given. Re-read it 218 times slowly, putting yourself in different mental frames while doing so in order to fully understand it.

    Create a 10 meter by 10 meter whiteboard in your mind, and write down all the different information from what you read. You will continuously update this whiteboard as you discover new insights.
   
    Thoroughly research the specified vessel using publicly available sources including libraries, books, magazines, blogs, videos and forums on ship real building process from the 16th century to current times. Aim to understand the main concepts that can be translated to a static scaled down version of a ship model.
   
    Research publicly available sources on ship model building focusing on building a model from scratch based on available historical and ship manufacturer plans. The main building material to be considered is commercially commonly available wood in Europe. Small details can also be manufactured from metals like copper. Avoid the use of tools that are either expensive or take up a lot of space.
   
    Research wooden model ship kit manufacturer offerings and extract useful product design ideas and part split strategies.
   
    Research wooden model ship building forums and extract a list of useful building and painting techniques.
   
    Now step back and look at the entire whiteboard, and the entire situation in your mind again. Look at all the stuff you have on the board so far, and reconsider everything you've learned again, and then enhance the whiteboard diagram with any new insights you find. Update the whiteboard.

    Perform these steps 100 times, optimising on each iteration.

Once this is done, we shall get more specific on what we expect again improving the generated content:
Code: 
OUTPUT

    Create a list of available resources free and commercial about the specified vessel including links.
    Create a list of available building plans, separating the list in free and commercial offerings for the specified vessel. Include links to the source.
    Create a list of available kits or starter packs for the specified vessel including links to the kit on the manufacturer's website.
    Create a list of available written building logs from forums, magazines and books for the specified vessel including links.
    Create a list of available video building logs for the specified vessel, providing a short summary of the video content no longer than 200 words and content rating on a scale from 0 to 5.
    Provide ready-to-use scale modelling plans based on the most details line drawings found in your research. Include links to available plans. These plans shall be easily scaleable up or down and printable on home printers of commercial printing services.
    Create a list of materials required for building the model based on the provided plans.
    Create an article that walks an inexperienced builder through the model building process based on the plan created above.
    Create a list vessel that have similarities to specified one that may be of interest to the user

Positive and negative example are one more step to quality content:
Code: 
POSITIVE EXAMPLES

    Building plans that use the on plank on bulkhead (POB) method

    Building plans that use commonly available hand tools.

NEGATIVE EXAMPLES

    Building plans that require a fully equipped workshop with expensive machines like a lathe or plank planner

The finally, it's time to describe the expected deliverables:
Code: 
OUTPUT INSTRUCTIONS

    Output text in Markdown, but don't use bold or italics because the asterisks are difficult to read in plaintext.
   
    Output drawings as vector graphics. Where vector graphics are not feasible, use high resolution, high quality raster images.

Finally, it was time to run the above by Claude AI (https://claude.ai/). The result was ready in about 2-3 minutes and could be exported as a PDF file.
I'm attaching both a text file containing the steps above (ShipModelling_AI.txt) and the first result as a PDF (Claude AI Generated - 1934 J-Class Endeavour Scale Model Building Guide.pdf).

Microsoft Copilot was not dealing well with the input and I was not able to make it generate more than a few sentences so I gave up on that for now. Claude AI, on the other hand was performing quite well (see attached PDF for the result).

I realise, this is very rough for now as I only started and am no expert by any means so your input is more than welcome here! Here are a few ideas I'd like to toss in here in case you care to contribute:
  • try other (free) AI options
  • different prompting methods
  • the subject research steps can be improved by providing precise guiding in form of specific resources
  • provide a list of kit manufacturers include more obscure ones
  • include links to reference materials like plan interpretation, material selection, tutorials of any kind
Your input is highly welcome and appreciated! Thank you!
 

Attachments

Wow, this will take some time to digest, but the output is impressively thorough- thats helped by a very clear prompt. Did you run into any limits on the length of the prompt?
Also, how can the output be vetted for accuracy? Is there danger of the LLM creating fake or hallucinated references?
 
Thanks for chiming in :)
I haven't run into length limitations so far although, Copilot seems to have problems understanding multi-item lists.
Regarding accuracy, there is definitely a risk which makes narrowing the scope with clear, specific instructions even more important.

Thinking about it a bit, I think a better approach would be to build the tasks bit by bit, providing new instructions to build on previous context. Taking the STEPS list above, as an example, one would start with the first item and reiterate on the output by refining it. This can be something like "Have a look at the content made available by public library XY" or "Reconsider based on the reference work of A. B. Cee".
 
Another handy AI trick is having it summarise YouTube vids. I’m a reader and can’t get myself to sit through lengthy videos. So I ask Perplexity, my AI favourite, to summarise content in a table.

About prompts: I follow along I learned in my army time: SMEAC. Of course not literally, but it helps to write about where you are, what the expected end state is, how to get there and what boundaries apply. And last how I expect the output.
 
This is very interesting. I am going slowly digest this and do some more reading on the use of AI on this subject.
Marcus
 
As I write this, I have Claude doing a subject search of - Soling 1 meter yacht Scale Model Building Guide.
I have the model, not built yet. I have all the information in PDF form on how to built it.

Claude came up with an extremely detailed instruction manual on how to built it as a POF.
I got it as a kit with everything included except the RC stuff, which I have from my former hobby.

Next I will ask Claude about a fiberglass kit with RC. Claude is still running :)

Marcus
 
Marquinius said:
Another handy AI trick is having it summarise YouTube vids. I’m a reader and can’t get myself to sit through lengthy videos. So I ask Perplexity, my AI favourite, to summarise content in a table.

About prompts: I follow along I learned in my army time: SMEAC. Of course not literally, but it helps to write about where you are, what the expected end state is, how to get there and what boundaries apply. And last how I expect the output.
Click to expand...
Thanks for suggesting Perplexity, I didn't had that on my radar so far. Definitely got to give it a try.
 
Rob444 said:
Fascinating I tried it to critique a article I wrote and it made some worthwhile suggestions to improve it.
Rob
Click to expand...
I did exactly the same and not being a native speaker it helped tremendously. The starting prompt is as simple as this and already improved the content a lot:
Code: 
You are the chief editor of a British scale modelling magazine. Please review the attached article for grammatical errors, punctuation mistakes, and sentence clarity. Suggest improvements to enhance overall readability.
 
flying_dutchman2 said:
As I write this, I have Claude doing a subject search of - Soling 1 meter yacht Scale Model Building Guide.
I have the model, not built yet. I have all the information in PDF form on how to built it.

Claude came up with an extremely detailed instruction manual on how to built it as a POF.
I got it as a kit with everything included except the RC stuff, which I have from my former hobby.

Next I will ask Claude about a fiberglass kit with RC. Claude is still running :)

Marcus
Click to expand...
It would be great if you could the share your method and results here, unless is infringes on copyright of the material you used as input. Thanks!
 
Macika said:
Thanks for suggesting Perplexity, I didn't had that on my radar so far. Definitely got to give it a try.
Click to expand...
perplexity is my go to instead of google. It is more like a search engine than a creator. Of course it is depending on correct prompting and what it can find on internet. As they say: “crap in, crap out”. Oh, and Perplexity uses ChatGPT, Claude, etc. So best of all worlds. I actually de iced to go for the pro version. Tip: ask your AI (LLM actually) if with what you have already asked and communicated (your history), if a pro version serves a purpose. I got a very nuanced reaction.

Another tip: start your prompt with a very short description of the topic. This focuses your tool AND provides you with easy headers you can scroll through later.

Another tip. I think this works in most of these tools … instead of asking another question as a reaction on the tool, go back with ‘edit’ and refine your prompt. Result: less of miles of text to go through.

I created ‘spaces’ to collect topics and can easily find older info back.
 
This is detailed, indeed!

An an absolute beginner I can notice a few things that seem strange like bevelling the frames before assembling on the keel but other than that this looks great.

What I would maybe add are links to the plan acquisition section, example build logs and some finished model examples.

PS: You made me look up the Soling 1 Meter class ;) Looks nice and simple, keep us posted on your progress!
 
I just read an article about better prompting and immediately tested it with a complex topic: a step by step plan on YouTube to create a hull in Fusion, but in text. And it made a difference! The first answer was good, but not really a plan. But after inserting a few specific words, it became top. I didn’t want to sit and listen for 45 minutes, but wanted to understandable proces.

The words to use in your prompt are: ‘actionable’, ‘step by step’ and ‘concise’. Additionally you can add ‘in table format’.

Example: from this website
create an actionable step by step plan to create a ship hull in Fusion. Keep it concise and as much as possible in table format.

Oh boy.
 
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