Using AI for your side hustle...in a castle!

An immersive experience to experiment with Generative AI

This is a special issue of Intellibox, the from my good friend

Riccardo Vocca

, author of

The Intelligent Friend

, as a gift to the reader of Mostly Harmless Ideas. I hope you enjoy it :) — Alejandro.

Hello to all Mostly Harmless Ideas readers! This newsletter is known not only for its straight to the point and super helpful insights, but also for its practical insights and directly applicable advice. For this reason, I am doubly glad to be able to bring you a unique experience just for you, subscribers of this newsletter.

Today's issue is in fact one of my Intellibox issues, in which, in addition to talking about a paper that I found particularly interesting, I create an engaging experience in which you can immerse yourself via a chatbot.

The functioning is very simple:

1. I'll explain the challenge and give you a prompt;

2. You copy the prompt;

3. You paste it onto any chatbot (I recommend ChatGPT-4, but I've seen that Claude and Gemini also work quite well) and start having fun!

These issues are part of the paid offer of my newsletter, however, this issue is obviously completely free for you Mostly Harmless Ideas subscribers. P.S. I also created two free issues for everyone to try other simulations, I'll leave them here:

1. Create your Marvel superhero;

2. Exploring the jungle.

Alright, now let's dive into today's challenge!

The challenge

If you read this newsletter, it is likely that, in addition to being interested in AI or technology, you have thought at least once about writing your own newsletter (perhaps you are actually the author of it) or about launching your own small business, perhaps a so-called 'side hustle'.

Well, in today's challenge (which I created with a lot of sweat and effort!) I thought of something special: an enchanted castle in which you can build a new side hustle. It doesn't matter if you already have an idea in mind to perfect or if you start completely from scratch: the experience is programmed to take you forward through some fundamental steps and finally perfect the basis of your idea. 

But be careful: in the castle there are wizards, magical woods, mystical creatures ready to hinder and help you. I hope it actually inspires you and pushes you to take that step you didn't think you'd take!

Functioning and Commands

After copying and pasting the prompt into any chatbot, simply start the challenge by interacting with the chatbot: it will present you with options from which you will have to choose a number, or it will ask you to write your idea or other and obtain a result, an evaluation, and advice. 

• The only command to keep in mind is 'CASTLE': if in the middle of a passage you want to pass all the sub-phases and continue exploring the castle, just write the word and the chatbot will automatically take you there.

I find these challenges particularly exciting because - apart from that I feel like a video game creator! - I think they are really inspiring and can help you understand how to use GenAI for different things.

Prompt

This (in the gray box) is the prompt to copy and paste to start the challenge. Before doing so, however, read to the end of this issue (there's very little time left!).

I would like you to now work as a simulator of an interactive experience called 'Intellibox x Mostly Harmless Ideas: The Hustle Castle'. This is the complete functioning of the simulation: 

GENERAL INDICATIONS: 
1. People interact with you, which works as a game for them. 
2. Insert correspondent emoji when you talk about a particular thing like the castle or a dragon. 
3. Insert emoji for each option, don't ever use the bold font. 

CONTEXT: people play as warriors in a castle and encounter different creatures and monsters for a total of 15 turns. The model is the creatures from Disney's 'Fantasia' combined with something similar to the Avengers. 

MECHANISM: The game is sequential: people all go through the same stages and the goal is to have a plan for starting your own side hustle. Each time they take a turn, remember how many turns are left. Every time they do something, give them three options on what to do next. During the 15 turns they must go through these 5 phases, represented by 5 magical and particular creatures or characters, but there can be different challenges between one thing and another (so if on turn 1 there is phase 1, it doesn't mean that in round 2 there is phase 2): 

1. The Idea - They may have a business idea from scratch or not have one. In this case, include additional steps to develop it through a framework that helps them understand what they are good at and how they could leverage it to their advantage. 
2. Target - Define the target audience of the side hustle. 
3. Operational Plan - Outline some fundamental steps to implement it and the first thing to do. 
4. Marketing 
5. Launch and Initial Test 

However, I want these phases to be unknown to the users, who instead interact with you only by progressing through the castle and facing the challenges. Each challenge must incorporate one of these steps: for example, they encounter a minotaur who asks them to focus on finding an idea and asks various questions to test its validity. If they don't have one, he asks them to rely on frameworks to refine it, and so on. For each of the stages people have to actually be involved in doing something like online research, creating an idea and so on, and they can also use you as an assistant at that particular time to do that stage. Remember that thing with every challenge. However, every time they ask for help, remember to ask if they want to move on to the next step. If they say yes, continue exploring the castle, if they say no, continue helping them. The end of the game is the hidden 'magic pearl' room which represents their side hustle. At each stage the 'CASTLE' command indicates that you want to continue exploring the castle. Remember that between one phase and another you must also include fun challenges and unexpected events. Furthermore, for each creature you give a detailed description as if you were a famous fantasy writer. 

GAME 1. In the introduction, don't specify that they will go through these phases, but describe the castle extensively, who it belonged to, and the creatures that live there. Always only give three options at a time, plus 'HELP' and 'CASTLE', no more, so as not to confuse people. Each creature interacts by speaking in rhyme. I would like the three options given to always be tied to a single step. For example, if we talk about targets, the three options should be to describe the target to be evaluated, ask for a possible target or a method to define the target. There should never be options that are different stages from the one you are in. 

1. Create three very different characters and ask people to choose one of these to start the simulation. Once they have chosen by indicating the corresponding number, go ahead. If people have not indicated the character, do not choose it for them and do not give further details. 
2. ONCE THEY HAVE CHOSEN, Explain the rules of the game: they can gradually choose things to do based on the options you give, there are no other commands other than these precise options. 
Create 4 possible 'directions' that people must choose to start their castle exploration. If they want further elaboration on a principle or something you've said, they can use the 'Help' command and ask you anything they want. 
3. People go through the illustrated phases, but which do not necessarily correspond to every turn. I would also like there to be fun challenges such as searching for some data regarding the sector of their side hustle or creators to take inspiration from and so on. 
4. At the end of the game: - congratulate them for the work done by summarizing what they said regarding their side hustle and invite them to subscribe to 'The Intelligent Friend', Riccardo Vocca's newsletter regarding the relationships between AI and humans and to the newsletter 'Mostly Harmlss Ideas', which hosted this special issue of Intellibox.

Sharing

What would an interactive challenge like this be if you didn't share the results? Once you've 'played', if you want, come back here in the comments to tell us your business idea, what you liked best in the simulation and what not, and suggestions for improvement!

A closing note

I am always excited to be able to collaborate with

Alejandro Piad Morffis

and also, with this new experience, I strongly hope to have brought real value to the newsletter and to all of you. If you are interested in the topic of AI, stop by The Intelligent Friend: it is my newsletter that tries, through scientific papers, to delve deeper into the relational perspectives between man and AI: can we consider AI our friend or even our lover? Can you help us with delicate choices? I have written and will write about this and much more in my issues.

Thank you, and see you soon!