Developing the prompt that powers the business advisor required 3 months of iterative testing with entrepreneurs and local experts (including RMI lab member Brian from Kenya) to refine tone, vocabulary (removing Harvard jargon), and contextual appropriateness. The prompt works by instructing the AI to 'use simple, non-technical English' and 'avoid discussing health, religion, politics, or current events.' This demonstrates that effective AI tool design for emerging markets is fundamentally a writing/humanistic problem, not a coding problem.

factualpending

Speaker

Rem

Evidence Quote

This prompt took us 3 months to develop... you're programming through writing... it's all writing. There's no computer programming.

Source

The Disruptive Potential of GenAI for Emerging Markets | Rem Koning | Leading with AIHarvard Business School AI Institute
Created: 8/12/2026, 6:32:49 PM

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