Generative AI tools are continuously being developed. You will come across different types, including:
Gen AI tools take user input known as "prompts" and outputs text, images, and code. They are useful for summarising a topic and brainstorming. Note: their limitations include hallucinations, as well as being inaccurate, out of date, and biased.
Below are some current examples of widely-used tools.
Scopus AI
Scopus is an established reputable database for scholarly material that links citation details with authors and institutions. Scopus launched a Gen AI tool that uses natural language questions to create a summary of the research published on that topic, referencing key articles published in sources published in the past five years and generated with links to authors and key subjects.
https://go.openathens.net/redirector/torrens.edu.au?url=http://www.scopus.com/
Check out our Scopus AI FAQ. We also run Scopus AI workshops a few times per trimester - browse our workshop schedule.
Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft’s AI chat assistant is built into Windows and the Microsoft Edge browser. It uses Bing search results to generate text. A Large Language Model (LLM) to answer user prompts, it has limitations of inaccurate, out of date and bias in its results.
https://copilot.microsoft.com/
One of the first chatbots. Using natural language prompts, ChatGPT generates text answers using LLM. However, the data it uses can be out of date and its well-known for imagined responses.
Google Gemini
Gemini is Google's chatbot -previously known as Bard. It uses a LLM to answer queries. Prompts can be text, images or code. It uses current data from online searches in its database and has limitations of inaccurate, out of date and bias in its results.
Perplexity
Perplexity can use a variety of media input, but focuses on accuracy over user-friendliness and tends to be less conversational. It uses current information and cites sources.
Riff
The Riff Reflection tool generates questions to help you think about a subject more deeply, and from new perspectives.
Microsoft Image Creator
Microsoft. (2024). Designer image creator. https://designer.microsoft.com/image-creator.
Prompt: Historical black and white photo of women suffragettes in London 1910.
Microsoft Image Creator Produces high-quality images uses natural language prompts. It has limitations of distortions and bias.
https://designer.microsoft.com/image-creator
Dall-E 2
Dall-E 2 generates editable, high-quality images from natural language input. There are ethical concerns about how it was trained and it cannot process more complex prompts.
Supports programmers to write code quickly the results of which - as with other Generative AI tools - need to be assessed critically. It has more developed coding functions than ChatGPT.
https://github.com/features/copilot
Text generation tools such as Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, and Google Gemini can also be used for coding.
ChatPDF
Very easy to use, drag and drop your PDF and a summary is generated by answering possible questions you may have asked in reading the content.
Elicit
Elicit works with Semantic Scholar articles to highlight research in a field of study based on a research question. From top papers, information is summarised into main concepts.
OpenRead AI
OpenRead AI offers a natural language question platform and provides a summary and a list of articles on your topic, OpenRead summarises PDF's that you upload.
ResearchRabbit
Research Rabbit integrates with Zotero, the reference management system, where you can upload a collection of articles from Zotero to Research Rabbit and it will summarise the content.
https://www.researchrabbit.ai/
SciSpace
Good for a general review of a topic on an introductory level. The SciSpace function offers dynamic summaries of uploaded PDF's. It can have innacurate summaries or citations.
Scopus AI tool
Scopus is an established reputable database for scholarly material that links citation details with authors and institutions. Scopus launched a Gen AI tool that uses natural language questions to create a summary of the research published on that topic, referencing key articles published in sources published in the past five years and generated with links to authors and key subjects.
https://go.openathens.net/redirector/torrens.edu.au?url=http://www.scopus.com/
Semantic scholar
Semantic Scholar summarises text with snippets of important information from articles and citation metrics. Semantic scholar holds less scholarly material than google scholar, it is reliant on partnerships with publishers for access to publications.
https://www.semanticscholar.org/