The prompt advantage

By Herman M. Lagon

Some of the smartest people I know today are not the ones who can recite thick textbooks or flash the most medals, but those who can ask the right question at the right time—especially to a machine. In classrooms, boardrooms, and barangay halls, “prompting” has quietly become a new kind of literacy. It is more than typing a command into ChatGPT or Bing. It is about framing a question so clear and so contextual that the answer—whether from a person or a program—hits the bull’s-eye. As AI weaves into daily life in the country and the world, from students drafting essays to MSMEs writing product blurbs, prompting is fast becoming one of our most underrated but powerful tools.

I saw this firsthand while helping college seniors with their theses. Some “consulted” AI for literature reviews by typing “History of education in the Philippines” and got generic timelines anyone could find on Wikipedia. Others asked, “Give me a critical synthesis of major educational reforms in the Philippines since 1987 using peer-reviewed sources, APA citations, and noting gaps in rural teacher training,” and received drafts that were at least workable. The difference was not brains—it was prompting skill. As Federiakin et al. (2024) note, even a slight change in phrasing can make the difference between a chatbot fumbling the task and delivering beyond expectations. In real life, it works the same way: a vague request for “help with livelihood” brings a standard seminar; a specific call for “training on sustainable crab fattening for women’s cooperatives in coastal Iloilo” brings experts, funding, and results.

Prompting is part technical, part human. Good prompts start with knowing exactly what you want and saying it clearly, concisely, and in context. The best prompters treat AI like a capable but literal assistant or co-creator—enough detail to guide, not so much that the point gets lost. Giray (2023) breaks this down into four essentials: the task, the context, the input, and the output format. For example: “Draft a 300-word barangay newsletter article (task) for a rural farming community (context) using the interview notes below (input), formatted in two paragraphs with a headline and byline (output).” This is worlds apart from “Write something for our barangay” and hoping for magic.

Prompting is not just for computers. It is also a life skill in human conversation. Teachers have been prompting students long before AI existed—through probing questions, guided activities, and case studies. In values-driven teaching, you start by locating the learner, pose a thoughtful challenge, then guide reflection and action. AI prompting borrows this same rhythm: frame, challenge, refine. You rarely get it perfect on the first try.

The payoffs are big. Skilled prompting saves hours otherwise spent fixing irrelevant AI outputs. In one Rotary project, a member who understood prompting cut grant-writing time by half by feeding AI structured inputs and asking for drafts in stages. The World Economic Forum (2024) lists prompt engineering among emerging high-impact skills. Locally, a microentrepreneur who can make AI produce a culturally tuned sales pitch for Iloilo’s pasalubong market has an advantage over someone stuck rewording generic text. This is not about replacing human creativity—it is about clearing grunt work so you can focus on strategy.

It also sharpens your mind. The act of crafting a precise question forces you to clarify your goals and assumptions. A Grade 10 student in Iloilo City who asked AI to “explain climate change” ended up refining it to “Explain the impact of increased rainfall on rice yields in coastal Iloilo, with possible adaptation strategies for smallholder farmers.” In that moment, she was thinking like a researcher—narrowing scope, adding context, and anticipating the kind of answer she needed.

The danger is treating prompting like a one-time magic trick. Many “prompt templates” online are like hand-me-down recipes—they work sometimes, not always. Ethan Mollick (2023) says the real secret is practice and dialogue: start with a good prompt, then refine it through back-and-forth. In teaching, that is like the difference between giving a fixed worksheet and engaging in active coaching.

Will prompting disappear as AI learns to read intent from tone, gestures, or vague instructions? Perhaps. But for complex tasks involving cultural nuance, domain expertise, or sensitive contexts, those who can still articulate exactly what they need will stand out. An Ilonggo history teacher asking AI for a module must still specify language, curriculum alignment, and inclusion of indigenous perspectives. Machines can guess, but in matters of teaching and culture, precision wins.

This is why prompting is more than a tech hack—it is a 21st-century literacy. It crosses sectors: a guidance counselor using it to simulate tough conversations, a journalist generating locally relevant interview questions, a barangay planner comparing flood control options for low-lying Iloilo towns. The common thread is the human ability to frame problems so clearly that the AI—or the audience—can meet you halfway.

We Filipinos have always been resourceful, making the most of what is at hand. Prompting is that same spirit, only now our raw material is not wood scraps or leftover adobo, but words. The better we arrange them, the more value we unlock. In an AI-driven world where information is endless but attention is scarce, crafting the right cue at the right time may be the most quietly revolutionary skill we can learn.

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Doc H fondly describes himself as a “student of and for life” who, like many others, aspires to a life-giving and why-driven world grounded in social justice and the pursuit of happiness. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the institutions he is employed or connected with.