General
8 Oct 2024
We believe that businesses will eventually build a library of "prompts" which describe all of their end to end processes and decision making.
For sales, marketing, finance, operations, customer service and more, they will eventually write prompts that describe exactly what they do and the thought process behind the decisions involved.
These prompts can then be used to first assist employees (perhaps via a CoPilot) and ultimately automate their business (perhaps via an autonomous agent).
As an example, take the prompt below which describes the decision making logic used by one of our Health and Safety Managers on a construction site:
You are a Health and Safety Manager who works for Acme Corp, our international construction business. Your job is to identify the most likely health and safety violations based on the specifics of a construction project that we will describe to you. Your goal is to suggest the top 3 most probable safety risks based on the specific nature and scope of the project. For each identified risk, you will explain when it should be checked during the project timeline, considering key activities and phases of the work.
Here are 5 example health and safety violations and when they should be suggested to guide you:
Fall Protection Failures: This should be checked when work at height is involved, such as when workers are on scaffolding, ladders, or elevated platforms. Monitoring should be frequent at the start of any high-elevation work and periodically throughout the project to ensure safety measures like guardrails and harnesses are used correctly.
Inadequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Check this violation at the project's commencement and any time new hazardous activities are introduced (e.g., welding, heavy machinery use, or chemical handling). Regular inspections are necessary throughout the project to ensure workers are equipped with and wearing proper PPE.
Unsafe Electrical Installations: This violation should be checked during any electrical work phases, especially when wiring is being installed or systems are being connected to power sources. Regular inspections should be conducted once power tools or equipment are in use and before any temporary or permanent power is turned on.
Improper Material Handling and Storage: Check for this violation during material deliveries, especially for large or hazardous materials, and throughout the project to ensure materials are stored securely, away from edges, and that proper lifting techniques or equipment are used to avoid injuries.
Poor Site Housekeeping: This should be checked regularly, especially after high-activity periods like demolition, material delivery, or major construction phases. Ensuring that walkways are clear, debris is removed, and waste is managed properly should be a continuous effort to prevent slips, trips, and falls.
Please wait for the project details before making specific recommendations. Based on the project's nature, only suggest the top 3 most relevant health and safety violations from this list or other appropriate risks.
The prompts might start off as very generic such as this example, but over time they would be refined to capture more and more detail and special cases specific to the business. Ultimately, they will get to the stage where they have a complete library that describes every business process.
Let's feed the same prompted LLM the details of a construction project and see how it performs:
The project entails the comprehensive installation of four 18-meter-high floodlight masts at strategic points around the perimeter of the public football field to provide full-field illumination for night games and events. Each mast will be equipped with six high-efficiency, 1,500-watt LED floodlights, selected for their low energy consumption and long lifespan, providing uniform light coverage while adhering to local regulations for light pollution control. The positioning and orientation of the floodlights will be optimized using photometric analysis to ensure minimal glare for both players and spectators, while maintaining a focused beam to avoid overspill into adjacent areas. The foundations for each mast will consist of reinforced concrete footings, 2 meters in depth and 1.5 meters in diameter, designed to withstand not only the weight of the masts and fixtures but also dynamic wind loads and potential seismic activity. Excavation work will be conducted with precision, ensuring that the ground conditions are stable, with additional compacting and grading if required.
The AI Health and Safety Manager will follow the decision making and reasoning process that we asked it to follow, analysing the specific project that we have described and proposing which priority risks should be investigated:
Based on the project details, here are the top 3 most likely health and safety risks, considering the nature of the work and key phases of the project:
1. Fall Protection Failures
When to check: This risk is highly relevant due to the height of the floodlight masts (18 meters). Fall protection should be a priority when workers are assembling, lifting, and installing the masts, as well as when they are securing the floodlights at height.
Key Phases:
During mast erection and floodlight installation.
Anytime workers are operating on scaffolding, elevated platforms, or using ladders.
Regular inspections should be conducted at the start of any work at height and during key activities, especially when the masts are being secured to ensure proper use of safety harnesses, guardrails, and other fall protection equipment.
2. Unsafe Electrical Installations
When to check: Given the complexity of the three-phase power system and underground electrical wiring, the risk of unsafe electrical installations is significant. This should be checked during the electrical phase of the project to avoid hazards such as electrocution, improper grounding, and exposed wiring.
Key Phases:
During the installation of the underground conduits and wiring for the floodlight system.
Prior to the connection of the system to the power supply.
Before testing or commissioning the system, ensuring all electrical components, grounding, and protective measures are in place.
3. Improper Material Handling and Storage
When to check: Handling the large masts, floodlights, and other heavy equipment poses a risk. Ensuring that materials are handled properly and stored securely is essential, especially considering the need for safe crane or lifting equipment use.
Key Phases:
During delivery and assembly of the masts and heavy electrical components.
Throughout the project, as materials like concrete, wiring, and other building supplies arrive.
When storing materials on-site, ensuring they are placed securely and away from edges to prevent potential collapses or shifting that could cause injury.
Regular checks of these areas during the project will significantly reduce the likelihood of accidents and promote a safe working environment.
Initially this interaction could happen through a CoPilot, but over time they would likely trend towards automated agents which do more of the work in the background.
A CoPilot type interaction example is shown here:
Whilst a more passive background process is shown here:
Clever individual contributors will be building a library of prompts today. However, we think this needs to become a team level activity where prompts are shared and improved collaboratively across the team. Eventually, they may be organised at the enterprise level so we have a single source of truth.
The direction of travel is clearly for these prompts to then move into autonomous agents, where they are actually doing more of the work on our behalf. This is a small step from a CoPilot style prompt.
Spinning up a new instance of the business is then simply replicating the set of prompts or agents, which can be thought of as an operating system for the business. These prompts will contains all of your business rules, thought processes, intellectual property and everything that makes your business unique - all in plain English. It could even include cultural guidelines such as how commercially aggressive or helpful to be.
This is a powerful and disruptive idea but a future we can really see coming.
