As a journalist who writes about artificial intelligence, I keep getting asked if AI will take my job. After many days of thinking about this question, reading about it, and spending hours on YouTube, Reddit, and other social media platforms, I realized that AI is here to stay and could take my job and yours. , I came to the conclusion that it might not be taken away. Nevertheless, large companies have adopted the adage that “AI won’t take your job, but someone who knows how to use AI will be more likely to take your spot.” It seems there is.
After all, big tech companies may have their own agendas. After all, we need to justify the billions of dollars poured into AI research and development without limit. Beyond the hollowness of this statement, I strongly believe that acquiring AI skills can go a long way.
Throughout 2024, I have been using AI for a wide range of tasks in my day-to-day work. As a side note, I am strictly against the use of AI content (with some exceptions, which I will explain in more detail later), plagiarism in all its forms, and even the blasphemous practice of relying solely on AI to do all the work. I do not approve. Remember, AI is just a tool. There’s something more valuable than AI: your brain, and it can shape AI outcomes in ways you never imagined. Here is a list of some AI tools that have come in handy this year.
Perplexity AI
Imagine an AI-powered search engine that puts the most valuable research papers at your fingertips. In my opinion, Perplexity AI is one of the best AI-powered search engines specifically designed to help journalists who want to get the most accurate and well-sourced information. Note that this isn’t some fancy AI buddy that can rotate an image in under 10 seconds. Based on my experience, I feel that the makers of Perplexity AI have put a lot of thought into building this search engine that provides real-time data search. This is very important for journalists who want to stay on top of the latest news and recent developments. What particularly caught my attention is that, unlike regular search engines, Perplexity provides concise, context-aware answers with citations. This allows you to instantly verify the source of the information.
Even before OpenAI introduced the o1 model, Perplexity AI stood out for its ability to handle complex queries. It allows you to integrate information from different sources and present it in a concise way. It also supports follow-up questions that lead to a conversational research experience, allowing you to dig deeper into a topic without starting from scratch. I also found it useful for summarizing long articles, reports, and even datasets. I’ve been using the free version for all my work. Search engines allow you to narrow down your results using focus modes, such as Web, which allows you to search the entire Internet. Academic mode allows you to search for research papers. Mathematics for solving equations. Writing to generate texts and chat without searching the internet. Videos to find and watch videos. Social for discussion and finding opinions.
Introduction: Perplexity AI works in much the same way as ChatGPT. All you need is a working email ID to create an account and get started.
Chat GPT
OpenAI’s ChatGPT is a really great assistant for journalists. We don’t just summarize your text or help you draft it. I’ve been using ChatGPT for the past two years and it’s getting better each day. I started by using it as a platform to brainstorm ideas, but now it helps me analyze data and come up with rough sketches of potential stories. I started using this tool as a co-editor to narrow down questions for interviews with a wide range of experts in the technology industry. ChatGPT also serves as an instant editor to proofread breaking news and find grammar, errors, and uneven sentences. I’m not a grammar expert, but I’m a stickler for consistent, logical, and easy-to-read text in emails, copy, headings, and anything that has to do with words and syntax. I’ve come to think of ChatGPT as the ultimate productivity tool in a wordsmith’s arsenal. This allows you to brainstorm potential angles for your story, refine your train of thought, and even give you a critical overview of your writing style. Using the Vision feature, we uploaded datasheets, screenshots of tabular data, and graphs to decipher the best information for our story’s narrative.
As for what’s useful to me, I appreciate ChatGPT’s ability to handle large datasets and condense long reports, articles, and even detailed interview transcripts into insightful pointers. For journalists, ChatGPT helps analyze trends, extract key takeaways from media releases, refine headlines, and devise social media leads. After OpenAI provided the internet to ChatGPT, you can now see news developments in real time. Additionally, the chatbot can translate multiple languages, which came in handy earlier this year when I had to write an article about a Bill Gates interview for a German tabloid. Thanks to DALL-E’s integration, we were able to do text-to-image conversion, and this year we were also able to experiment with graphics and featured images in some of our stories. Fact-checking is essential for journalists, and ChatGPT has proven to be a reliable tool for fact-checking information. Above all, we were particularly impressed by its ability to adapt to user preferences.
Getting started: You need an email to create an account. Although the free version is sufficient, it also provides access to the latest model, ChatGPT 4o Mini. However, OpenAI also offers Plus and Pro versions for those who want to explore the possibilities of ChatGPT even more.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
In November 2023, one year after the launch of ChatGPT, Anthropic introduced the latest version of its AI chatbot, Claude. The new Claude 2.1 is now the world’s first AI chatbot with a 200,000 token or 150,000 word context window. This was provided as a respite for ChatGPT’s free users from not being able to type large chunks of text as prompts. Claude 2.1 allows you to place an entire novel as a prompt and converse with it to elicit the desired response. For me, the best use case for Claude is the ability to import documents and research papers. Over time, I started using Claude as an AI tool for cleaning up interview transcripts. You can enter a transcript of your recording and ask the chatbot specific questions. When complex topics are being discussed, Claude allows you to brainstorm and get a broader idea of potential stories. It’s effective at displaying the most important quotes and topics discussed in bullet point format for easy reference.
In June, Anthropic announced Claude 3.5 Sonnet, an advanced AI language model to support research, content creation, and analysis. This model is faster and has a more nuanced understanding of context, making it better at generating clear and insightful responses instantly. This model can also handle complex multi-step inference tasks. Chatbots can efficiently process long documents, reports, and interviews, providing important insights without losing context. It can also help you revise your draft, suggest edits, or create a different story angle or heading.
Getting started: You need an email to create an account. Claude is available in three versions: Free, Pro for $20/month, and Team plan for $25/month. For most users, the free version is sufficient.
Pi chatbot
No matter what your profession is, the job can be tough. Last year, AI startup Inflection AI, founded by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Google DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman, introduced Pi, which stands for Personal Intelligence. Pi is uniquely designed to provide a supportive conversation experience. Chatbots focus on emotional well-being and mental health. At a time when most AI tools were leaning towards data synthesis and content generation, Pi became a safe and empathetic spokesperson. For journalists, this is not a chatbot for brainstorming. Rather, it’s about reducing stress and gaining motivation to overcome high-pressure moments at work.
When it comes to conversational style, Pi chatbot offers a warm, non-judgmental, and intuitive tone, perfect for getting a short mental break through meaningful interactions. Whether discussing burnout, writer’s block, or other emotional strain, Pi helps users articulate their feelings. One of the most prominent features of chatbots is their ability to ask thoughtful follow-up questions and provide actionable suggestions. This makes the Pi chatbot seem like an emotionally intelligent companion. Simply put, the Pi chatbot acts as a digital mental wellness companion, helping you manage stress.
Getting Started: You need an email to set up your account. The chatbot is available as an app for mobile users and a desktop version. Remember, this is not a replacement for a mental health professional.
WhatsApp Meta AI
Launched in June this year, Meta brings the benefits of AI to WhatsApp, the most used messaging app. Meta AI, powered by Llama 3.2, is a very versatile tool for your daily work. You can create personalized greeting cards with text prompts, making it the perfect tool to send congratulatory wishes or professional notes to your contacts. From instant grammar checks to making sure your messages, captions, and notes are polished before sharing, Meta AI works its magic. I found it useful for correcting typos and rephrasing sentences. The biggest advantage is that it works within chat. Meta AI is also a useful tool for instantly drafting emails and creating story pitches on your phone. Meta AI is a fast and efficient mobile-enabled assistant.
Although AI tools can greatly improve work efficiency, I believed that human intelligence was most important. Although all of these advanced tools are good in different ways, you should be aware that they fall short in some ways. We recommend that you use your own discretion when manipulating the output of these tools. Remember, there is no substitute for human ingenuity.
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