A screenshot of ChatGPT is seen in this image provided by NordVPN.
SEOUL, June 6 (Korea Bizwire) – The role of “prompt engineers,” responsible for optimizing the performance of artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT, is emerging as a promising profession, but a debate is intensifying regarding its future.
Kang Soo-jin, a linguistics PhD, recently secured a position as a prompt engineer at the South Korean AI startup Wrtn Technologies Inc., with an annual salary of up to 100 million won (US$76,510), overcoming a competition ratio of 100 to 1.
The industry acknowledges the primary skill set of prompt engineers as their ability to ask effective questions, and it appears that Wrtn Technologies placed significant value on Kang’s expertise in dialogue analysis.
Given that prompt engineers engage in conversations with artificial intelligence, some argue that liberal arts majors, equipped with strong language and communication skills, possess an advantage for this job.
Even a slight variation in prompt wording can yield vastly different results.
However, the prevailing viewpoint is that prompt engineers are an extension of software development or a novel approach to human-computer interaction.
Some suggest that minimizing the intermediary layers between humans and computers could revolutionize the paradigm of software development.
Certain individuals anticipate that the role of prompt engineers will soon become obsolete.
In a decision made by the Ministry of Science and ICT, no funding will be allocated next year for the establishment of new educational programs aimed at training prompt engineers.
“The role of prompt engineer itself will persist,” said Chun Byung-gon, a computer science professor at Seoul National University.
“Nevertheless, it is highly likely that a substantial portion of the prompt production process, currently conducted manually by humans, will be automated using AI algorithms or large language models (LLMs).”
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
