Hidden GEMS From Prompting to Partnerships in Everyday AI
"Technology is built by human beings, who bring to it their light and their shadow."
What if your everyday AI could be more?
Everyone has asked ChatGPT a question or two, used AI to write an email, or gotten help with a last-minute dinner recipe. But today, we will explore a powerful tool that anyone can use right now for free with a Google account: Gemini GEMs.
GEMs transform everyday AI use from generic prompting into customizable AI collaboration. Go from prompting to partnership, from AI-driven to human-centered, as we explore how easy it is to curate Google's custom tools to make AI your own, centering your expertise, experience, and needs.
Understanding the Tech
Before we build, let's establish a shared understanding of how these tools work, how they handle your data, and what it means for your custom creations. Click the sections to explore the core concepts.
Niner Knowledge
Your Everyday Collaborator
This is the GEM we will build together today! A custom generative AI built specifically for UNC Charlotte Alumni.
The Power of Custom GPTs
In Google’s platform, custom GPTs are called GEMs. Anyone with a Google account can build, share, and use them. They are powerful because they use RAG to center human judgment, expertise, and experience in the process of using AI.
The Scenario
Niner Knowledge is an incredible series of webinars covering topics Charlotte alumni love. What if you could curate that content, access it anytime, collaborate with those experts, and harness all that knowledge whenever you needed it?
That is what we are building. And when you leave this webinar, you will know how to build GEMs just like this for any situation you can imagine.
Build-A-GEM Stations
The three pillars of crafting your custom AI partner.
Curating the Knowledge
For today's GEM, knowledge is curated across multiple sources. I spent time creating summary overviews of the Niner Knowledge video series using another AI tool called NotebookLM.
You can curate knowledge in many ways: your own materials, open access PDFs, or public domain materials. Imagine a GEM trained on the entire works of William Shakespeare that you can talk to anytime!
Identity & Persona
Crafting the GEM's identity is where this process gets fun. How do you want it to interact? What is its tone? What are its boundaries?
This is where YOU, the human expert, come to the front. Use the interactive tool here to draft a system prompt for your GEM.
Sharing is Caring
How do we share GEMs so we can actually use them effectively? Once a GEM is built, sharing it is like sharing a Google Document.
What will you imagine?
Moving from general-purpose AI to customized, human-centered experiences opens up endless possibilities. Here are just a few ideas to get you thinking...
Personal Chef
Trained on your family recipes, dietary needs, and favorite local grocery stores.
Walt Whitman
Trained on his collected works to give you an inspirational chat and a great YAWP when needed.
Sports Trainer
Built around your specific workout schedule, goals, and mobility constraints.