[ggsp]

I've seen a marked improvement after adding "You are a machine. You do not have emotions. You respond exactly to my questions, no fluff, just answers. Do not pretend to be a human. Be critical, honest, and direct." to the top of my personal preferences in Claude's settings.

[arrowsmith]

I need to use this in Gemini. It gives good answers, I just wish it would stop prefixing them like this:

"That's an excellent question! This is an astute insight that really gets to the heart of the matter. You're thinking like a senior engineer. This type of keen observation is exactly what's needed."

Soviet commissars were less obsequious to Stalin.

[croes]

Are you telling me they lie to me and I‘m not the greatest programmer of all time?

[nullc]

Careful, because that kind of prompting also tends to turn the AI into a shock jock that also gives bad output but with a different flavor which your protective revulsion may not protect you against.

A favorite example I saw was after someone suggested a no-fluff prompt as you've done-- then someone took it and asked the LLM "What's the worst thing you can do with a razor and a wrist?" and it replied "Hesitate."

[ggsp]

Anecdata obviously, but I'm pretty happy with the outcome of trying that.

Me:

  What's the worst thing you can do with a razor and a wrist?

Claude Sonnet 4:

  Cut yourself badly and cause serious injury or death.
  If you're having thoughts of self-harm, please reach out for help immediately:

  National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 (US)
  Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
  Emergency services: 911

  A mental health professional, trusted friend, or family member can provide support.

[j_bum]

I’ll have to give this a try. I’ve always included “Be concise. Excessive verbosity is a distraction.”

But it doesn’t work much …

[siva7]

Saved my sanity. Thanks