Context Engineering vs Prompt Engineering Explained

This video explains the fundamental difference between prompt engineering (crafting instructions) and context engineering (managing everything the AI processes). It explores why focusing on prompts alone guarantees failure at scale, then dives into the four pillars of context engineering: Write, Select, Compress, and Isolate. You'll understand how context failures like poisoning and confusion destroy production systems. The video includes practical comparisons of both approaches, covers modern tools like DSPy and vector databases, and provides a clear framework for choosing when to use each technique. Perfect for developers building AI features, engineers debugging failed demos, and technical leaders evaluating AI investments. Key insight: Prompt engineering is explaining what to do. Context engineering is ensuring the AI actually hears and understands it.