Generative AI Prompts for Systems Thinking
Since 2017 large-language models have become incredibly powerful. Every seven months they are doubling their capabilities.
But how can we harness LLMs to enhance our systems thinking skills? The answer lies in using a series of carefully crafted prompts that help you extract exactly what you need from these LLMs. Although it is easy to have an LLM explain what "The Tragedy of the Commons" is, it is more difficult to figure out how to generate a high-quality causal loop diagram or have it generate a graphic-novel style short story. You can even generate a simulation of the archetype.
The Prompts section of this book is here to suggest prompts that you can use to both learn systems thinking as well as to use it as a teaching aid.
Note that both OpenAI and Claude provide project files that can be used to store rules for generating content. We strongly suggest using these tools.
Sample Archetype Examples
Archetypes are classic examples that are used to teach systems thinking. We can generate examples of archetypes using generative AI tools. Our examples will be robust, consistent and extensible if we use the templates provided.
Generating Causal Loop Diagrams
There are many ways to draw causal loop diagrams (CLDs). We have attempted to use the most broadly accepted standards such as using the "R" and "B" symbols within our loops to annotate reinforcing and balancing loops. We have also created a JSON Schema to help guild the process of building a consistent JSON file that can be viewed by our CLD viewer tool.
Learning Graphs
Learning graphs are directed graph networks that store the concepts we need to master to learn systems thinking. They should be reviewed by each instructor and loaded into a context when appropriate for generating lesson plans and other content.
[Learning Graph]