How IRC Made Me an Expert AI Wrangler
I grew up on early computing, including IRC (Internet Relay Chat). These days, that experience comes back to me whenever I'm working with an AI.
Let me back up a bit so you'll understand where I'm coming from. "IRC" is a vast network of text-based chat rooms that have run since, oh, the early 1990s? Using them I learned a lot about computers, met people, and played in text-based RPGs (so many RPGs).
They are still around to some degree, though it appears most people prefer Discord for a similar purpose.
With that background established, let me address the obvious question. How does IRC relate to AI?
- Everything's text
- You must describe what you want to convey
- You must use clear language
- You package your 'posts' per message
- It's an ask-answer format
The only real difference is that on IRC, another person's reading your messages on the other end of the line. In AI it's an LLM chatbot.
The AI must do the same thing as the human before - interpret what I said, and return the information I requested. Either in the form of an answer to a question, a response to a post, or something similar.
Here's an example. Say I'm in an RPG playing a wizard and want to cast a spell against an opponent. In the IRC environment, the opponent is another person playing. In the AI environment, the opponent is the AI acting in that role.
The command I enter:
/me raises his hand to cast a spell. Fire swirls around my hand. With a word, I project the fire forward toward Player2.
[Response in IRC]
"Player2 raises his shield, causing the Fireball to splash against it. Smoke rises from the spot. He raises his sword and prepares to charge."
[Response in AI]
"Surleon the Glowering waves his hand dismissively, sending the Fireball away. 'Hah! You think a weak fireball will harm me?'"
Identical? No, of course not. But my 'prompt' can elicit a similar response from both a person and an AI. All I have to do is make sure to convey clear information and indicate a request for response.
What AI thinks IRC looked like.
What IRC actually looked like (courtesy of en-academic.com).
When ChatGPT hit the scene and we started seeing a proliferation of AI chatbots, those old IRC days bubbled up in my mind. Just asking a question didn't work well. But prompting for a response does. The more I interact with chatbots (mostly Claude these days), the more I delve into my familiar IRC posting structures.
...I may or may not have run a scene for myself using Ollama. It worked okay. As with most AI-related queries, they're passable, but working with a human is still better.
Does an older technology continue to help you today? Which one?