6 Academic AI Tools You Just *HAVE* to Know About

Andy Stapleton
26 Jun 202310:17

TLDRThe transcript introduces a suite of AI-powered tools designed to aid academic research and writing. Consensus.app enables users to extract conclusions from research papers, offering a synthesized summary and aiding literature reviews. System Pro provides statistical synthesis of peer-reviewed studies, while Research Buddy streamlines the literature review process by organizing information into themes. Text Tarot.ai assists with overcoming writer's block by generating essays based on user prompts. Paper Pal focuses on editing and enhancing academic texts, and Grantable streamlines the grant proposal process. These tools represent a significant leap in academic support, potentially transforming the way research and writing are conducted.

Takeaways

  • 🔍 Consensus is a tool in beta that allows users to get conclusions from research papers by asking questions, serving as a supplement to other AI tools like Elicit.
  • 🧠 The importance of not relying solely on one AI tool is emphasized to avoid biases that may exist in certain tools.
  • 📚 Consensus.app is highlighted as a valuable tool for literature reviews and obtaining an overall sense of research trends.
  • 🌐 System Pro is another AI tool similar to Elicit, focusing on health and life sciences with plans for future expansion.
  • 🔗 System Pro synthesizes statistical results from peer-reviewed studies and provides visualizations of related topics.
  • 🤖 Research Buddy offers personalized literature reviews and one-page summaries on various subjects, categorized by themes.
  • 📝 Text Tarot AI is recommended for overcoming writer's block and generating initial drafts for academic writing.
  • 🎯 Text Tarot allows users to specify subjects and desired writing styles, such as MLA format, to tailor the AI's output.
  • ✍️ Paper Pal is a tool for editing academic texts, offering suggestions for improving redundancy, word choice, punctuation, and more.
  • 💰 Grantable is designed for writing grants, guiding users through the process and allowing for the inclusion of source materials and additional instructions.
  • 📈 The speaker anticipates that AI tools will become a standard part of academic writing and research, reducing the need for manual grunt work.
  • 📢 The speaker encourages checking and verifying AI-generated content, highlighting the complementary nature of AI tools in the academic workflow.

Q & A

  • What is the first tool mentioned in the transcript and what does it do?

    -The first tool mentioned is Consensus. It is in beta stage and allows users to ask questions and receive conclusions from research papers, making it a valuable supplement to other tools like Elicit.

  • Why is using multiple AI tools important according to the speaker?

    -Using multiple AI tools is important to avoid relying on the biases that may exist in a single tool, ensuring a more balanced and comprehensive research process.

  • How does the synthesize feature in Consensus work?

    -The synthesize feature in Consensus provides a summary of all the different information presented in the research papers, offering an overall consensus view of the topic being searched.

  • What is System Pro and how does it present information?

    -System Pro is another AI tool similar to Elicit that synthesizes statistical results from millions of peer-reviewed studies. It cites and links to all sources used and can recommend and visualize topics that are statistically related to the search term.

  • What is Research Buddy and how does it assist in literature reviews?

    -Research Buddy is an AI tool that prepares literature reviews or one-page summaries on a given subject. It categorizes the information into different themes, making it easier for users to understand the various aspects of the topic.

  • How does Text Tarot AI help with writer's block?

    -Text Tarot AI helps with writer's block by generating text based on a given subject and desired style. It can produce an essay or a literature review, providing users with a starting point or inspiration for their writing.

  • What is Paper Pal and how does it assist with academic writing?

    -Paper Pal is an AI tool designed for editing academic texts. It identifies issues related to redundancy, word choice, punctuation, and grammar, providing suggestions for improvement and helping to refine the academic writing.

  • What is Grantable and how does it aid in grant writing?

    -Grantable is an AI tool that assists in writing grants. It guides users through the process of drafting responses to prompts, writing letters of interest, and generating summaries. It can also incorporate additional source material provided by the user.

  • What does the speaker suggest about the future of academic writing and AI tools?

    -The speaker suggests that AI tools will become a normal part of academic writing and career, as they can handle the generation component of an academic workflow, making the process more efficient and less reliant on manual grunt work.

  • How can one engage with the speaker for more information on academic tools and resources?

    -To engage with the speaker and access more information on academic tools and resources, one can sign up for the speaker's newsletter at andrewstebton.com and visit academiainsider.com for ebooks, resource packs, a blog, and a forum.

  • What are the key benefits of using AI tools in academic research and writing according to the transcript?

    -The key benefits of using AI tools in academic research and writing include saving time on grunt work, reducing biases, providing comprehensive literature reviews, aiding in writer's block, improving the editing process, and streamlining grant writing.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Introducing Research Tools: Consensus and System Pro

The paragraph introduces two AI-based research tools, Consensus and System Pro. Consensus, in its beta stage, allows users to ask questions and receive conclusions from research papers, serving as a supplement to tools like Elicit. It emphasizes the importance of not relying on a single AI tool to avoid biases. System Pro, similar to Elicit, synthesizes statistical results from millions of peer-reviewed studies and recommends related topics based on statistical relevance. Both tools are highlighted for their potential in aiding literature reviews and research.

05:01

📚 Utilizing Research Buddy and Text Tarot for Academic Writing

This section discusses two additional AI tools for academic writing: Research Buddy and Text Tarot. Research Buddy offers literature reviews and one-page summaries on various subjects, organizing information into themes. Text Tarot is introduced as a tool to overcome writer's block, allowing users to generate essays based on a subject and desired style. The paragraph emphasizes the usefulness of these tools for undergraduate students and for generating a preliminary draft of academic content.

10:03

✍️ Paper Pal and Grantable: Editing and Grant Writing Assistance

The final paragraph introduces Paper Pal, an editing tool that provides suggestions for improving academic texts, and Grantable, which assists in writing grants. Paper Pal is noted for its simple interface and usefulness for non-native English speakers and those needing a final check before submission. Grantable guides users through the process of drafting grant proposals, offering a structured approach to writing different sections of a grant, though it may not replace detailed content creation.

🚀 Embracing AI in Academia: Future and Resources

The concluding paragraph emphasizes the growing role of AI in academic writing and research, suggesting that these tools will become a standard part of the academic workflow. It encourages the audience to start using and understanding these AI tools, as they can significantly reduce the need for manual grunt work. The speaker shares his personal projects, including a newsletter and a website, as resources for further information and support in academia.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Consensus

Consensus is a tool in beta stage that allows users to ask questions and receive conclusions from research papers. It is highlighted as a valuable supplement to other AI tools like Elicit, emphasizing the importance of not relying on a single AI source to avoid biases. In the context of the video, Consensus is presented as beneficial for literature reviews and obtaining an overall sense of research trends.

💡System Pro

System Pro is another AI tool similar to Elicit, which synthesizes statistical results from millions of peer-reviewed studies. It cites sources and can recommend and visualize topics that are statistically related to the user's search. The tool is currently limited to health and life sciences but plans to expand in the future. It is presented as a useful resource for quickly gathering relevant studies and generating literature reviews.

💡Research Buddy

Research Buddy is an AI tool that assists in preparing literature reviews or one-page summaries on a given subject. It categorizes information into different themes, making it easier for users to understand the structure of research in a particular field. The tool is praised for its ability to compile information from a wide range of areas and for its thematic organization.

💡Text Tarot dot AI

Text Tarot dot AI is an AI tool designed to help users overcome writer's block by generating text based on user input. It allows users to specify the subject and desired style, such as MLA format, and the number of sources. The tool is presented as a helpful resource for undergraduate students and anyone needing a starting point for writing academic texts.

💡Paper Pal

Paper Pal is an AI editing tool that helps users refine their academic texts. It identifies issues related to redundancy, word choice, punctuation, and grammar, offering suggestions for improvement. The tool is particularly useful for non-native English speakers and those seeking to polish their academic writing before submission.

💡Grantable

Grantable is an AI tool specifically designed for writing grants. It guides users through the process of drafting responses to prompts, writing letters of interest, and other grant-related tasks. The tool allows users to input additional instructions and source material, making it a valuable resource for generating the initial drafts of grant proposals.

💡Academic Workflow

Academic Workflow refers to the series of tasks and processes involved in conducting academic research and producing scholarly content. The video discusses how AI tools can streamline and enhance this workflow by automating certain aspects, such as literature reviews, essay generation, and grant writing, while emphasizing the importance of human oversight to ensure accuracy and quality.

💡Bias

Bias in the context of the video refers to the potential for AI tools to exhibit favoritism or prejudice in the information they generate or the sources they reference. The speaker advises against relying solely on one AI tool to avoid such biases and to ensure a more balanced and comprehensive review of research literature.

💡Literature Review

A literature review is a scholarly paper that discusses published research on a specific topic, providing a summary, analysis, and synthesis of the current state of research. In the video, several AI tools are showcased that can assist in conducting literature reviews by summarizing and organizing findings from multiple research papers.

💡Writer's Block

Writer's block is a common phenomenon where a writer is unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. The video introduces AI tools like Text Tarot dot AI that can help overcome writer's block by generating initial drafts or outlines, providing a starting point for further writing and development.

Highlights

Consensus is a tool in beta stage that allows users to ask questions and get conclusions from research papers.

Consensus can be a great supplement to tools like Elicit, emphasizing the importance of not relying on a single AI tool to avoid biases.

The tool System Pro synthesizes statistical results from millions of peer-reviewed studies and cites all sources used.

System Pro can recommend and visualize topics that are statistically related to the user's search.

Research Buddy prepares literature reviews or one-page summaries on a given subject.

Text Tarot dot AI helps with writer's block by generating text based on a given subject and desired style.

Paper Pal assists with editing academic texts by providing suggestions for improving redundancy, word choice, punctuation, and more.

Grantable is designed for writing grants and guides users through the process with selective resources.

These AI tools are rapidly advancing and are expected to become a normal part of academic writing and research.

The presenter suggests that AI can handle the generation component of academic workflows, reducing the need for manual grunt work.

Andrew Stebbins offers a newsletter and resources through his website and project, Academia Insider.

The newsletter provides exclusive content on academic tools, writing perfect abstracts, and more.

Academia Insider offers ebooks, resource packs, a blog, and a forum to help make academia work for individuals.

The presenter encourages the audience to engage with him through his newsletter and Academia Insider project.