A Dozen AI-based Creation Tools
/Adoble Firely
Adobe’s AI-driven multimedia production tool. Still in beta. Will do AI video editing, 3D modeling, text-to-image, photo editing and more.
MidJourney
Probably the most popular AI image generator, it uses machine learning to create pictures based on text. You’ll find a good prompt book here.
Perplexity AI
Acts like a search engine but includes results from the web (unlike ChatGPT). Automatically generates citations of sources and suggests follow-up prompts. Free.
Quizlet
Create study tools like flash cards and quizzes or make use of those created by others. Useful for rote learning. Easy to use but limited functionality. It will link to Google Classroom, but not connect to academic LMS (learning management systems like Blackboard). The company added Q-Chat in 2023. This AI feature tailors material to each user’s needs. The app adjusts the difficulty of the questions according to how well students know the material they’re studying and how they prefer to learn. Free version for most features. $1.99 to make it ad free. $19.99 for more options.
Stable Diffusion
Generates visual creations through AI. Since it is open-sourced, anyone can view the code. Fewer restrictions on how it can be used than DALL-E.
Bard AI
Google’s conversational AI based on LamDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications). Google has unveiled PaLM 2 to replace Bard’s dependance on LamDA. While it seems more accurate than ChatGPT, it lacks attribution and links to background articles. For access, visit Google Bard's page and sign into your personal Gmail account.
ChatGPT
This OpenAI chatbot remembers what you've written or said, so the interaction has a dynamic conversational feel. Give the software a prompt and it creates articles. GPT-4 can use both images and text as inputs, process up to 25K words (versus 4K with GPT-3). It can write and explain code. Doesn’t do sourcing and limited to info from before 2022. Free or $20 a month for ChatGPT Plus for faster responses and access to new features such as a “code interpreter” that can write and execute python code, and can work with file uploads. For developers, there’s the OpenAI playground. for experimentation.
ChatSonic
Created by WriteSonic built on top of the same technology that powers ChatGPT. Can assume personas such as a philosopher or stand-up comic. Create up to 100 AI-generated images each month for free. Connected to the internet, so it can provide real-time, up-to-date answers, which ChatGPT cannot do. Free.
Claude
This AI is from Anthropic, a startup co-founded by ex-OpenAI execs with funding from Google. Like ChatGPT it can act on text or uploaded files and hasi been trained on huge amounts of infomation. Useful for summarizing long transcripts, clarifying complex writings, and generating lists of ideas and questions. Can analyze up to 75K words at a time. Not good with math and doesn’t deal with images. Free.
Cody
This AI allows users to create (without coding) a chatbot that can answer questions limited to a specific knowledge base to reduce the likelihood of incorrect information. Free up to 100 interactions. Paid accounts start at $29 a month.
DALL-E
OpenAI’s tool that turns written text into realistic images using AI. Named after painter Salvador Dali and Disney Pixar’s WALL-E. A limited number of images are free.
Jasper AI
AI story writing tool for fiction and nonfiction. Pick a tone of voice for style. Pre-built templates available. A more business-focused AI that is particularly helpful for advertising and marketing. Remembers past queries, However, no sources are provided and limited to pre-2022 information. Short free trial. $29 month.