“I’m going to be advising an 18-year old and his mother, both dear family friends, on enlisting in the US military. I’d like you to propose a topical agenda, 30 minutes in length, to help cover the basics. I’m going to be specifically interested in helping this young man to understand the different services, their missions, compositions, pros and cons of each, what makes each one unique, and what to expect after life in the military.”
As a veteran of the USMC, I am occasionally asked by friends to talk to their adult children who are contemplating entering the military. I’m not an expert, having served 4 years in one branch alone, and I want to do a good job. This is important, and I’m really conscious of the importance of quality information at critical life junctures.
For this problem the other day, I turned to the dedicated personal AI I maintain in the Masterverse Slack Community - check it out if you’re curious…
I asked the question you see above, and received a useful answer, briefly screenshot here - it’s too long to share in its entirety.
And then I went deep with questions like…
And then I went even deeper to expand on the topic with increasingly specific directions to the AI like…
“Expand on this topic: Overview of Enlisting in the US Military: Concept of enlisting, why it’s an important decision, commitment involved…”
“From an enlisted man’s viewpoint, explain the culture differences between each of the services - concentrate on topics like esprit de corps, reputation, qualify of life, time away from home, amenities, training etc. Give me only text blocks without formatting.”
“Give me objective pros and cons for each service, from the perspective of an enlisted man.”
“My friend is interested in being a firefighter. Which branches of the military offer MOS’s specific to firefighting? How does being in the military affect firefighting candidacies in the civilian world.”
“List every firefighting MOS for every service, be specific.”
The answers were accurate and insightful, and tuned for an 18-year old’s ear…
Again, too long to show all the answers here. The point is that I asked 16 followup questions and each one was answered fully. Doing so helped me to write a complete and unbiased briefing for an important friend, on an even more important topic.
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Real World AI Example - Answering a Question for a Friend about Enlisting in the Military