Generative Artificial Intelligence

Generative AI Tools

By no means a comprehensive list, here are a few generative AI tools that might be of interest to you.

ChatGPT

ChatGPT (Generative Pre-training Transformer) is a large language model chatbot from OpenAI that lets you interact using natural language to generate answers to questions and create content. It falls into the general category of AI text generator.

The GPT technology is what quite a number of AI text generators use (Jasper, Anyword, Rytr, etc.)

Some things ChatGPT (and GPT technology, in general) can do

• write essays, emails, policies, etc.
• write in different styles
• write at different reading levels
• summarize texts
• create quiz questions
• generate discussion prompts
• design rubrics
• create scripts of any type (fiction, podcast, instructional video)
• revise any of those texts
• tutor
• answer incorrectly (create hallucinations)

Here are some things ChatGPT can't do (for examples)

• write a reflection based on a specific experience
• generate non-text based content (infographics, charts, video, etc)
• reason
• distinguish fact from fiction
• actually understand the content it generates; it's all based on predictions

ChatGPT 3.5 vs. GPT 4.0

ChatGPT 3.5 is the free version of this popular generative AI tool, available from the Open AI website (https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt). GPT 4.0 is the version available through Open AI's subscription-based tool called ChatGPT+. You can also get to a free, customized version of 4.0 through the Bing search engine.

So what does ChatGPT+ have over ChatGPT 3.5?

• Faster responses, even during peak use times
• Access to the latest updates and upgrades
• Live access to the Internet (ChatGPT 3.5 can only access information from before September 2021)

DALL-E

OpenAI's image generator. Requires registration and the purchase of tokens. (Each OpenAI generator has a different pricing structure for its tokens, but the price is roughly set at less than $0.01 for every 4 characters typed.) For image generators, pricing differs by the resolution of the image. Responds to text such as "ukiyo-e print of Garfield the cat eating lasagna," or "Canada goose in the style of Gustav Klimt." Your results may vary.

• Can also use "out painting" feature to continue image that has been cut off. 

Gemini (formerly Bard)

Like ChatGPT, Google's Gemini is a natural language processor, but instead of being based on a large language model, it is based on the Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMBDA). That said, it produces similar results, but here are some key differences (as of June 2023).

• The full version of Gemini, including live internet access, is free
• It tends to operate faster than ChatGPT 3.5
• It interacts directly with Google Search, making its access to real-time information stronger
• Stronger research summary tool, not as strong at writing
• Does not include references or summaries of abstracts. For that, see AI tool Elicit, also in this list.
• Use Gemini for a short answer summary to a research question, including just one or two cited studies.
• Use Elicit to view and sort results of an empirical literature search (including keywords and synonyms), and sort results by most current, most cited, or largest number of participants. 

Gamma

• Generate docs, [slide] presentations and webpages in seconds.
• Paste in your own notes or outlines to generate presentations.
• Many functions available for free with registration.
• Other functions available with Gamma Pro pricing.
• Essential to check AI-generated content for hallucinations, or factual errors.

Humata AI

Generate summaries of academic papers. Humata will answer your submitted questions about the paper(s) and highlight the relevant sections of the papers for you to double-check accuracy. Registration is free. The first 60 pages of PDFs are free. After that, there are tiered pricing plans.

Cognii

Third party learning platform with a higher education arm. Automates some of the teaching and learning experience for both students and faculty. Examples below, as listed on Cognii's website.

• AI-powered online course design.
• Assessment tool that extends the effectiveness of faculty.
• Real-time tutoring that students can access anytime, anywhere.
• Immediate and accurate evaluation of student writing.
• Effective practice and assessment for problem-solving and communication skills.
• Uniquely engaging learning experience for better learning and retention.
• Finely tuned adaptive learning sequence and coaching.
• High-resolution analytics that pinpoint student needs.

Elicit

Elicit calls itself a "research assistant using language models like GPT-3 to automate parts of researchers’ workflows". Currently, there are two main workflows in Elicit.

1. Literature Search
   Identify relevant literature, using it's own AI tool on top of the Semantic Scholar platform. It searches 125 million academic papers for your keywords, natural language questions, or whole paragraphs and automatically returns results with synonyms. It also pulls in related literature by searching citations backwards and forwards in time. The default results sort is by relevance, but you can sort results by largest sample size, most current, most cited, etc.
2. Literature Summary
   You can select articles from your search results or upload pdfs. Elicit will extract data from the articles, based on choices from a preset list of data types (methodology, intervention, summary of discussion, etc.) or from a custom description you provide (e.g. study population demographics).

MyEssayFeedback

Created by instructors to "provide formative feedback during the revision process. By focusing on the revision process instead of the final grade, [there is] an incentive for students to embrace the process of self-reflection and analysis, while at the same time, minimizing the impulse of students to go directly to ChatGPT and ask it to write the essay for them." Less expensive than ChatGPT, with an emphasis on accessibility for all students writing papers and looking for instant feedback on the quality of those papers before turning them in. 

Research Rabbit

Research Rabbit is a literature mapping tool, helping you discover connections between papers. As you build your collection of papers, it uses AI to help improve it's recommendations for you. It is also a collaboration tool where you can invite team members into your collections.

Research Rabbit also has a data extraction tool, but there are two potential issues with it.

1. It requires you to upload the full-text. If you do not have copyright permission to do that, you may be breaking the law.
2. Unclear how accurate the data extraction is. Still waiting on a thorough evaluation.

Magic School Ai

Originally created for K-12 teachers, Magic School has expanded to include features for higher ed faculty as well. After you create a free account, you can use it's many tools

• Syllabus generator
• Rubric generator
• Text dependent questions generator
• Multiple choice quiz generator
• Multiple explanations generator
• Text summarizer

As always, the results are variable and will undoubtedly need editing.

Here's an example from the Multiple Explanations Generator.