Prompting AI Art: An Investigation into the Creative Skill of Prompt Engineering

Abstract: We are witnessing a novel era of creativity where anyone can create digital content via prompt-based learning (known as prompt engineering). This paper delves into prompt engineering as a novel creative skill for creating AI art with text-to-image generation. In a pilot study, we find that many crowdsourced participants have knowledge about art which could be used for writing effective prompts. In three subsequent studies, we explore whether crowdsourced participants can put this knowledge into practice. We examine if participants can 1) discern prompt quality, 2) write prompts, and 3) refine prompts. We find that participants could evaluate prompt quality and crafted descriptive prompts, but they lacked style-specific vocabulary necessary for effective prompting. This is in line with our hypothesis that prompt engineering is a new type of skill that is non-intuitive and must first be acquired (e.g., through means of practice and learning) before it can be used. Our studies deepen our understanding of prompt engineering and chart future research directions. We offer nine guidelines for conducting research on text-to-image generation and prompt engineering with paid crowds. We conclude by envisioning four potential futures for prompt engineering.