Unit 8 · Lesson 2
Good examples, better model
How to choose examples that teach the right pattern — not the wrong one.
Last lesson: show, don't tell. But here's the trap. The AI copies your examples exactly — including the parts you didn't mean to teach.
Give it three examples that all happen to start with "The," and it'll think every answer must start with "The." It can't tell your intended pattern from an accidental one. It just copies what's there.
So the skill isn't "give examples." It's "give examples that teach the pattern you actually want."
A model learns whatever your examples have in common — on purpose or by accident. Your job is to make the real pattern the only pattern.
One idea: three rules for examples
This is your Unit 2 dataset audit, shrunk down to the handful of examples you provide.
| Rule | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Be consistent | Every example should share the pattern you want. One oddball teaches the wrong lesson. |
| Add variety | Vary everything you don't care about, so the AI learns what actually matters. |
| Include an edge | Show a tricky case done right, so it knows what to do when things get weird. |
Consistency and variety sound like opposites, but they're a team. Be consistent about the thing you're teaching (short and punchy). Be varied about everything else (bottles, apps, backpacks). That contrast is exactly how the AI figures out which part to copy and which part to ignore.
Do the thing
You're teaching an AI to turn long sentences into short ones. Spot the problem in this example set:
- "The weather today is really quite cold." → "It's cold."
- "The movie was surprisingly good." → "The movie was good."
- "The dog is extremely fluffy." → "The dog's fluffy."
What accidental pattern might the AI copy?
Quick check. Two problems. First, every input starts with "The" — the AI might think it only shortens sentences that start with "The." Second, they're inconsistent about how short: #1 drops the subject entirely, #2 keeps it, #3 uses a contraction. The AI can't tell which "short" you mean. Fix: vary the openings (not all "The"), and pick one consistent style of shortening. Same lesson as Unit 2 — the hidden pattern in your examples becomes the behavior.
Why this matters
Choosing examples is a real skill, and now you have the checklist for it.
- The AI can't read your mind — only your examples. Whatever they share, it learns. Make sure they only share the right thing.
- Consistent pattern, varied surface. That's the recipe for examples that teach cleanly.
Next lesson, you put it all together: build a reusable style kit — a small, sharp set of examples you keep and reuse to get your style, on tap, any time you want it.