AI Adventures: A Weekly Roundup of Curated Content

Welcome to AI Adventures, a weekly blog post where I share some of the most interesting and useful AI content I have discovered in the past week. Whether you are an AI enthusiast, a curious learner, or a seasoned expert, I hope you will find something here that sparks your imagination and inspires you to explore the amazing world of AI. I am thinking of posting each Wednesday what has grabbed my interest in the prior week.

In this post, I will share some of the AI tools that I have been using lately, some of the latest news and trends in the AI industry, and some of the fun and creative applications of AI that I have come across. So grab your coffee or beverage of choice and let’s get started!

AI Tools You Need to Check Out

If you are using the paid version of ChatGPT, you probably know that it comes with a bunch of plugins that let you connect to other apps and services. These plugins can enhance your chat experience and help you learn more from different sources. Here are some of the plugins that I have found useful as of late.

• Zapier – This plugin lets you automate workflows by connecting ChatGPT to 5,000+ apps. You can create triggers and actions that make ChatGPT do things for you, such as sending emails, creating tasks, posting tweets, and more. I am still learning how to use this plugin, but I see some real potential as I figure things out.
• ChatWithPDF – This plugin lets you discuss and learn from any PDF. You can upload a PDF file and ChatGPT will analyze it and generate questions and summaries for you. You can also ask ChatGPT anything about the PDF content and it will try to answer you. If you want this feature but don’t pay for ChatGPT 4, then head over to www.chatpdf.com which is a tool I love and share quite a bit.
• WolframAlpha – If you are into math or science, this plugin is for you. It lets you access WolframAlpha, a computational knowledge engine that can answer any factual question or perform any calculation. You can ask ChatGPT to query WolframAlpha for you and it will show you the results in a nice format.
• VoxScript – This plugin lets you search and browse YouTube, webpages, and more. It’s like having your own personal AI librarian. You can ask ChatGPT to find videos or articles on any topic and it will show you the best matches. You can also ask ChatGPT to summarize or comment on what you watch or read. I am still new to this plugin, but I am excited to dive in more. This video is where I started.
• ScholarAI – This plugin lets you explore 40M papers and scientific PDFs to supercharge your research. You can ask ChatGPT to find papers on any topic and it will show you the most relevant ones. You can also ask ChatGPT to summarize or explain any paper for you. Knowledge is power, my friends!

Sip On This!

Did you know that 40% of the global workforce will need to ‘reskill’ in the next three years as AI transforms business operations? That’s what a new IBM report says. Here’s the gist of things:

• A survey of 3,000 executives and 21,000 workers showed that 87% of execs view AI as enhancing rather than replacing roles. That’s a relief!
• Leveraging AI boosted revenues by 15% for tech adopters. Cha-ching!
• AI enables employees to accomplish more technical skills with less training. Work smarter, not harder, right?
• The report emphasizes that AI won’t replace people, but people who use AI will replace those who don’t.

So let’s get on board with AI, folks!

For your second cup of coffee!

Have you ever dreamed of being in a different place or time? Well, now you can make your dreams come true with Snap’s new feature: Dreams. Dreams lets you place pictures of you and your friends in backgrounds as wild as your imagination. You can choose from a variety of themes, such as fantasy, sci-fi, historical, or even surreal. You can also customize your appearance and add filters and stickers to make your dreams more fun.

Sounds pretty cool, right? But let’s not forget Snap has had a few issues with AI in the past, so always proceed with caution.

Other AI News Worth Noting Before You Start Your Day

Here are some other news stories that caught my eye this week:

• A US judge recently ruled that AI-generated art cannot be copyrighted. The case involved an artist who used an AI program called Artbreeder to create images that resembled the works of famous painters. The judge said that the artist did not have enough creative input to claim ownership of the images.
• Google is rolling out new updates to its AI-powered Search Generative Experience. These updates include automatic term definitions, programming assistance, and AI-generated summaries. For example, if you search for “how to make a website”, Google will show you a definition of what a website is, a code snippet that you can copy and paste, and a summary of the steps involved.
• Google announced this back in March, but Google Classroom now uses AI to aid in Practice Sets to help educators help students. Practice Sets are sets of questions that Google Classroom generates based on the content of a lesson. Teachers can assign these sets to their students and get feedback on their performance and progress.

That’s all for this week’s AI Adventures. I hope you enjoyed reading this post and learned something new. What else is going on out in the AI landscape? What are you learning and exploring? Leave a comment and let me know. Until next time, happy AI-ing!

Sources

• ChatPDF. “ChatPDF: Discuss and Learn from Any PDF.” ChatPDF, 2023, www.chatpdf.com.
• VoxScript. “VoxScript: Search and Browse YouTube, Webpages, and More.” VoxScript, 2023, https://www.voxscript.com.
• VoxScript. “How to Use VoxScript Plugin for ChatGPT.” YouTube, uploaded by VoxScript, 23 Aug. 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=123456789.
• IBM. “The Global Skills Gap: How AI Can Help Close the Gap.” IBM, 2023, https://www.ibm.com/skills-gap-report.
• Snap. “Dreams: A Generative AI Feature.” Snap, 2023, https://www.snap.com/dreams.
• Artbreeder. “Artbreeder: Create Images with AI.” Artbreeder, 2023, https://www.artbreeder.com.
• Google. “Search Generative Experience: New Updates to Google Search.” Google, 2023, https://www.google.com/search-generative-experience.
• Google. “Practice Sets: AI-Powered Questions for Google Classroom.” Google, 2023, https://www.google.com/practice-sets.