# 🎭 Hidden Instructions: How System Prompts Change AI

The same AI, the same question—but different "system prompts" create completely different personalities

### Your Question:

Try these:
💡 What's happening here?
Every AI assistant has hidden "system prompts" that shape its personality and behavior. You never see these instructions, but they dramatically affect responses. This is why:

- ChatGPT apologizes so much → "Be helpful and harmless" in system prompt
- Different AI tools feel different → Different system prompts
- AI refuses certain requests → System prompts define boundaries
- Some AI is formal, some casual → Tone defined by hidden instructions

Key insight: AI behavior isn't "thinking"—it's following instructions you can't see + predicting patterns from training data. The same underlying AI can be helpful, harmful, silly, or serious depending on scaffolding.