Professor Ken Purnell, a professor in educational neuroscience at CQUniversity, believes prompt formulation is fast emerging as the defining skill of the AI era.
“AI isn’t magic – it’s a tool,” Professor Purnell said. “The real power lies with people who can prompt it effectively.
“Today’s young people already understand this. They’ve grown up with chatbots and virtual assistants, and they intuitively know that AI responds best when it’s guided clearly and precisely.”
Professor Purnell says this growing awareness has given rise to a new form of digital literacy: prompt theory. A hybrid of creativity and technical skill, prompt theory allows users to interact with AI in increasingly sophisticated ways.
“Being an expert prompter is becoming the new literacy,” he claimed. “It’s not about teaching machines to think like humans. It’s about teaching humans to think clearly enough to communicate with machines.”
A recent Wall Street Journal article noted that while early AI users often attributed human traits to chatbots, digital natives are shedding the myth of machine consciousness. Instead, they understand that large language models are essentially advanced pattern recognisers – not minds, but mirrors reflecting our input.
The creative and tech industries are adapting quickly, which can mean disruption for people not finding ways to use AI.
“Even Hollywood, which once feared AI might replace creativity, is now using it to enhance storytelling and production. The conversation has shifted from fear to fluency.”
Professor Purnell believes that developing prompt literacy in schools, workplaces and the wider community will be crucial to ensuring Australians can confidently navigate and shape their AI-driven futures.
“Prompting is a teachable, learnable skill. And it’s empowering – because once you master it, AI becomes less of a mystery and more of an amplifier for your own thinking.”
Debra Benita Shaw is a Reader in Cultural Theory at the University of East London. She is a critical posthumanist interested in the relationship between technology, architecture and what it means to be human. She is also a literary critic specialising in science fiction. Her most recent monographs are Posthuman Urbanism (2018) and Women, Science & Fiction Revisited (2023).
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