Can AI Have a Personality? Prompt Engineering for AI Personality Simulation: A Chatbot Case Study in Gender-Affirming Voice Therapy Training

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that prompt engineering can effectively guide large language models to simulate consistent and recognizable personalities in chatbots, exemplified by a gender-affirming voice therapy training chatbot.

Contribution

It introduces a method for using prompt engineering to create AI chatbots with stable, personality-driven behaviors, validated through a case study in gender-affirming voice therapy.

Findings

Chatbot maintained a consistent persona.

The chatbot exhibited a distinct personality based on the Big Five.

Prompt engineering can simulate stable personality traits in AI.

Abstract

This thesis investigates whether large language models (LLMs) can be guided to simulate a consistent personality through prompt engineering. The study explores this concept within the context of a chatbot designed for Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) student training, specifically focused on gender-affirming voice therapy. The chatbot, named Monae Jackson, was created to represent a 32-year-old transgender woman and engage in conversations simulating client-therapist interactions. Findings suggest that with prompt engineering, the chatbot maintained a recognizable and consistent persona and had a distinct personality based on the Big Five Personality test. These results support the idea that prompt engineering can be used to simulate stable personality characteristics in AI chatbots.