New AI Tools That Are Actually Useful

Generative AI is experiencing an explosive growth in utility, with new applications appearing regularly. While the term "useful" can be subjective, most people familiar with current AI tools like ChatGPT would agree on their practical applications. This week, several noteworthy updates have emerged, including a ChatGPT competitor, upgrades to Google Assistant on Pixel phones, a new tool for image-based geolocation detection, and more. Let's dive into these fascinating new releases.

Claude: The ChatGPT Competitor

Claude recently received an upgrade, positioning itself as a formidable competitor to ChatGPT. While it's not always superior to GPT-4, Claude excels in specific use cases. Image recognition and brainstorming are two areas where Claude particularly impresses. For those who want to compare it directly with ChatGPT, the website chat.lmsys.org offers a free interactive experience.

Microsoft's Co-Pilot Updates

Microsoft's Co-Pilot has also received intriguing updates, including an 18,000-character input window in the "Notebook" feature and predefined use cases in various presets. These features boost productivity, especially in refining prompts and creating task-specific personas.

Google Gemini: AI-Powered Assistant

Google has integrated its Gemini large language models into its Assistant for Pixel phones, enhancing its functionality. The upgraded Assistant can now access emails, create tasks, and manage reminders, offering a leap in convenience for users.

Text-to-Speech Arena

The Text-to-Speech (TTS) Arena by the folks who built Chat Arena offers a fun and interactive platform to compare various speech synthesizers. Users can test out different syntheses and see which one produces the best result, making it valuable for applications requiring high-quality voice generation.

Image Generation with Transparent Backgrounds

An exciting new feature from the automatic 1111 interface allows users to generate images with transparent backgrounds, which was previously impossible with diffusion models like Stable Diffusion and MidJourney. This capability simplifies compositing images and eliminates the need for background removal tools.

Stability AI's Image to 3D Model

Stability AI has released an impressive image-to-3D model generator, available for free on Hugging Face. This tool allows you to upload an image and get a fairly accurate 3D model, which can be highly valuable for designers and developers.

Peeka: Video Lip Sync

Peeka has introduced a new tool that synchs video lips to provided text, utilizing advanced voice synthesis technologies from Eleven Labs. While the feature works best with animated characters, it's a step forward in making synthetic videos more lifelike.

Geos-Spy: Image Geolocation

Geos-Spy is an image geolocation tool that identifies the city where an image was taken. While it’s still in the early stages, it can already locate cities accurately and will eventually provide exact coordinates. This tool raises some privacy concerns but underscores the rapid advancements in AI capabilities.

Final Thoughts

These new tools highlight the continuous and rapid evolution of AI technologies. From daily-use applications to specific utilities in data handling and creative workflows, AI is becoming more versatile and accessible by the week. Whether you're in academia or industry, keeping up with these developments can offer a significant edge in efficiency and creativity.

Keywords

Generative AI
ChatGPT
Claude
Microsoft Co-Pilot
Google Gemini
Text-to-Speech
Transparent Backgrounds
Stability AI
Image to 3D Model
Video Lip Sync
Geos-Spy

FAQ

Q: What is Claude and how does it compare to ChatGPT? A: Claude is a competitor to ChatGPT and excels in specific use cases like image recognition and brainstorming. It offers specialized improvements over GPT-4 in certain areas.

Q: What are the updates in Microsoft Co-Pilot? A: The updates include an 18,000-character input window for refining prompts and predefined use cases with prompt recommendations, which enhances task-specific interactions.

Q: What is Google Gemini and what are its capabilities? A: Google Gemini is an AI-powered assistant integrated into Pixel phones, offering improved functionalities like email access and task management through its large language models.

Q: How does the Text-to-Speech Arena work? A: The TTS Arena allows users to submit text and compare the results from different speech synthesizers, effectively crowdsourcing the ranking of these tools based on user preference.

Q: What's the significance of generating images with transparent backgrounds? A: This feature simplifies compositing images, as it eliminates the need for background removal tools, making workflows more efficient and flexible.

Q: How reliable is the Geos-Spy tool? A: Currently, Geos-Spy accurately identifies the city where an image was taken. It promises to offer exact geolocation coordinates in future updates.