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AI Literacy in the Age of ChatGPT

Large Language Models (LLMs)

ChatGPT logo ChatGPT

Open AI
Free, built on GPT-3.5
No web search results. Trained on data only through January 2022.

As of April 2024, you can use it without creating an account.
ChatGPT Plus logo ChatGPT Plus

Open AI
$20/mo, built on GPT-4
Includes:

  • a "browse with Bing" feature that allows it to search for information on websites
  • Advanced Data Analysis" (formerly Code Interpreter)
  • GPT4-Vision (for uploading images and discussing them)
  • Image generation with DALL-E 3.

(as of Nov. 6, 2023: all these features combined into "all tools.")

A new feature for building chatbots without using code. These are called "GPTs."
(available to Plus users only)

Enterprise edition for large businesses. Teams account for small business.
Microsoft Copilot Microsoft
Free, built on GPT-4 (If you use Creative mode, Balanced mode = GPT3.5)
Generate images with DALL-E 3 using Bing Image Creator or Microsoft Designer

Includes web search results from Bing Search.

Copilot Pro Plan with more features for individuals.
Copilot for Microsoft 365 with more features for institutions and businesses.
Google Bard logo Gemini
(formerly Bard)		 Google
Free, built on Gemini Pro (as of Dec. 6, 2023)
Includes web search results from Google.

Gemini Advanced is built on Gemini Ultra ($20/mo)
Claude logo Claude Anthropic
Free. Also available in Slack.
Built on their own model: Claude 3 Sonnet.
Pro version ($20/mo) is based on Claude 3 Opus.

Focused on reliability and safety.
No web search results. Trained on data through August 2023.
Perplexity AI Perplexity
Free, built on GPT-3.5. 
Includes web search results. Offers "Focus" choices such as
YouTube, Reddit, Semantic Scholar ,and Wolfram|Alpha.

You can use it without creating an account.

Pro account ($20/mo) allows a choice between several models:
GPT-4, Claude, Gemini Pro, and more.
Meta AI

Meta
Free, built on Meta Llama 3
Includes web search results. 

Log in with your Facebook or Instagram account.

You can also access the chatbot on WhatsApp, Instagram,
Messenger, or Facebook, by typing "@meta ai" within chats.

Learn more.

Which models are the most capable?

  • ChatGPT Plus (with a monthly fee) is based on GPT-4.
  • Claude is also very capable, but no web search results. It's free to use and is trained on data up to August 2023.
  • Microsoft Copilot (in creative mode) is based on GPT-4. And it's free to use.
  • Perplexity AI with their pro account -- you can get access to more capable modesl (like GPT-4 and Claude 3).
  • Gemini Advanced (with a monthly fee) based on Google's Gemini Ultra, is now said to be about as capable at GPT-4.

Which models are less capable?

  • Google's Gemini (formerly known as Bard)  - the free version, is now about as capable as the free ChatGPT (3.5), since it uses Gemini Pro as the underlying model.
     
  • ChatGPT free version (GPT 3.5)

For a list of more AI tools, see AI Tools Landscape by Carlos Lizarraga-Celaya.

Other useful tools based on LLMs

These tools are based on language models like GPT-3 or GPT-4 (from Open AI).

Elicit
Find answers from 175 million research papers. Elicit uses semantic similarity, which finds papers related to your question even if they don't use the same keywords. See How to use Elicit responsibly.

Explainpaper
Upload a PDF, highlight confusing text, and get a simpler explanation. Useful for reading research papers outside your field. You can also get explanations in languages other than English. Learn more about Explain Paper.

Inciteful
Build a network of academic papers and it will analyze the network to help you discover the most relevant literature. Select two papers and it will show how the literature connects them together.

Petal
Reference manager and more. Ask the AI to explain your selection, translate it into another language, or identify key points.

Scite AI assistant
A conversational tool made by Scite that lets you ask questions in simple language and get answers backed by real, up to date references. Think of like ChatGPT with real, up to date references, tailor-made for anyone discovering, understanding, or writing research.