Prompt Engineering And The New Seed-Of-Thought Prompting Technique That Seeks To Solve The AI Options-Choosing Problem

InnovationAIPrompt Engineering And The New Seed-Of-Thought Prompting Technique That Seeks To Solve The AI Options-Choosing ProblemByLance Eliot,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Dr. Lance B. Eliot is a world-renowned AI scientist and consultant.Follow AuthorApr 24, 2026, 03:15am EDTExploring the latest prompt engineering technique known as string seed-of-thought (SSoT).gettyIn today’s column, I examine a new prompt engineering technique that tries to solve a longstanding difficulty underlying the use of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) when trying to perform tasks that are supposed to involve randomness.The prompting technique is coined as String Seed-of-Thought (SSoT). According to the researchers who devised SSoT, they suggest that by using their recommended prompt templates, an LLM will properly undertake probabilistic instruction following (PIF). The idea is that if you want AI to play a game, simulate human behavior, or otherwise leverage random numbers, you can use SSoT to do so. For example, if you want AI to simulate flipping a coin, you ordinarily expect that the LLM series of responses should come out to 50/50. That’s unlikely to be the case, unless you take extra actions to get AI in that ballpark. Perhaps SSoT would achieve this.Please know that there are challenges. I will first explain in some detail the nature of the problem that LLMs face when attempting to derive random numbers. There are vital nuances involved. I have gradually crafted my own ad hoc method when I want to include randomness into my AI-driven tasks. I’ll show you my approach. After doing so, we will dive into SSoT.Let’s talk about it.This analysis of AI breakthroughs is part of my ongoing Forbes column coverage on the latest in AI, including identifying and explaining various impactful AI complexities (see the link here). MORE FOR YOUPrompt Engineering EssentialsI have been analyzing and showcasing prompt engineering techn...