2024 Twelve Best FREE AI tools for Academic Research and Researchers

This video presents a list of twelve free AI tools that are highly beneficial for academic research and researchers. The tools range from mind mapping with Herisa, which is AI-driven and assists in exploring research fields, to Open Read, which offers a generous free plan with features like paper summaries and Q&A. Explain Paper is highlighted for its ability to simplify complex text, while Paper Brain and Einblick are praised for their paper analysis and chart generation capabilities, respectively. Tavali AI stands out for its custom research agent, and Power Drill is noted for its data set analysis. Next Net is recommended for those in the drug and health sectors. The video also mentions the use of general AI chat tools like Chat GPT, Perplexity, and Bing for everyday research needs. These tools are celebrated for their ability to enhance the research process, offering powerful features without cost.

Takeaways

• 📚 Herisa is an AI-driven tool for mind mapping research fields, allowing users to explore concepts and generate extensive mind maps for literature reviews.
• 📈 Open Read offers a generous free plan that includes five paper espressos, Q&A, chat with an AI, and summaries per month, aiding in the comprehension of academic papers.
• 🧐 Explain Paper is a free tool that simplifies academic papers by allowing users to select text and request explanations at various educational levels.
• 🧠 Paper Brain is a tool for generating AI responses to questions about specific papers, providing a quick summary and the ability to ask follow-up questions.
• 📊 Einblick is a chart generation tool that requires only three steps: uploading a dataset, describing the desired chart, and generating it.
• 🔍 Tavali AI creates a custom research agent based on a user's query, searching the web for relevant information and providing a detailed overview.
• 💡 Power Drill is a tool for uploading and analyzing datasets, allowing users to ask questions and receive AI-generated responses based on the uploaded data.
• 📚 SiSpaCe is a platform for literature review that extracts data from PDFs, offering a 'too long; didn't read' feature and summarizing conclusions for efficiency.
• 💊 Next Net is a resource for drug and health research, providing a searchable graph of recent literature on gene expressions and drugs.
• 🗣️ Chat GPT, Perplexity, and Bing are general AI chat tools that can be used for research, offering different levels of control and specificity in responses.
• 🔄 The mentioned tools are transformative for research, offering free access to powerful AI capabilities that were previously only available through paid subscriptions.

Q & A

What is the first AI tool mentioned in the transcript that can help in mapping a research field?

The first AI tool mentioned is 'Heurista' (possibly a misspelling or mispronunciation of a tool's name), which is AI-driven and assists in mind mapping an entire research field.

How does the AI tool Heurista help in exploring a specific research topic?

Heurista allows users to input a topic into the central area of the interface, and then request elaboration on various aspects. It generates a mind map that can expand to include numerous related concepts, aiding in a comprehensive literature review.

What does Open Read offer in its free plan that is considered generous?

Open Read's free plan offers five paper espressos, five paper Q&As, five chats with an AI named Oat, and five AI summaries per month, which is considered generous given the tool's capabilities.

How does the tool 'Paper Espresso' assist users in reading and understanding academic papers?

Paper Espresso provides bite-sized chunks of information about a paper, allowing users to quickly grasp the key points without having to read the entire document. It's particularly useful for dense or lengthy papers.

What is unique about the 'Explain Paper' tool?

Explain Paper allows users to upload a paper and then select text that they want explained. The tool provides simplified explanations of the selected text at different educational levels, making complex academic content more accessible.

How does 'Paper Brain' assist with understanding the content of a paper?

Paper Brain analyzes the uploaded paper and generates a brief AI response summarizing the paper's content. It can answer specific questions about the paper, providing a quick and efficient way to gain insights.

What is the primary function of 'Einblick DOI'?

Einblick DOI is a tool that helps in chart generation. It allows users to upload a dataset, describe the type of chart they want, and then automatically generates the chart.

How does 'Tavali' assist researchers in their work?

Tavali offers a research assistant feature that creates an agent based on a user's search question. It searches the internet for relevant information and provides a detailed overview, including AI-generated text and links to sources.

What is the main feature of 'Power Drill' that makes it powerful for researchers?

Power Drill allows users to upload datasets, which can include text, web pages, or files. Once uploaded, users can ask questions about the data, making it a powerful tool for literature review and data analysis.

What is the benefit of using 'Typeset DOI' for literature review purposes?

Typeset DOI provides a 'too long didn't read' feature, conclusions, and other key points from uploaded PDFs. This allows researchers to quickly extract valuable information without manually reading through entire papers.

How does 'Next Net' assist researchers in the drug and health space?

Next Net is a tool that searches for recent literature on specific queries related to drugs, gene expressions, and other health-related topics. It provides a searchable graph of the research set based on the user's query.

What are the three general AI chat tools mentioned in the transcript, and how do they differ?

The three general AI chat tools mentioned are Chat GPT, Perplexity, and Bing. Chat GPT is used for everyday inquiries, Perplexity is chosen for obtaining references for further information, and Bing is preferred when more control over the response type is needed.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 Free AI Tools for Research and Literature Review

The paragraph introduces a variety of free AI tools that are beneficial for conducting research and literature reviews. It highlights 'Herisa' (possibly a misspelling of 'Heritrix') as an AI-driven tool for mind mapping research fields. The speaker demonstrates how to use the tool to explore the topic of organic photovoltaic cells, mentioning its ability to generate related concepts and expand the research scope. The paragraph also emphasizes the availability of other free resources with generous plans, such as Open Read, which offers monthly allowances for paper espressos, Q&A, and AI summaries.

05:03

📚 Exploring AI-Powered Research Assistants and Data Visualization

The second paragraph delves into several AI-powered tools designed to assist with reading and understanding academic papers, as well as data visualization. 'Explain Paper' is praised for its simplicity and ability to provide explanations of complex texts at various reading levels. 'Paper Brain' and 'Einblick' are introduced as tools for getting quick insights and generating charts from datasets, respectively. 'Tavali' is highlighted for its custom research agent that fetches online information based on user queries, while 'Power Drill' is noted for its capacity to handle large datasets and facilitate in-depth analysis. The paragraph also mentions 'Next Net' as a valuable resource for those in the drug and health research space.

10:04

🤖 General AI Chat Tools for Everyday Research

The final paragraph discusses the use of general AI chat tools like Chat GPT, Perplexity, and Bing for everyday research purposes. These tools are appreciated for their ability to provide broad responses to queries, though the speaker acknowledges the need to guide them for more academic or specific answers. The paragraph emphasizes the transformative impact of these AI tools on research, and the speaker encourages viewers to share their preferences and experiences with the mentioned tools.

Keywords

💡AI tools

AI tools refer to software applications that use artificial intelligence to perform tasks that would typically require human intelligence. In the video, AI tools are presented as being particularly useful for academic research and researchers, offering capabilities such as mind mapping, summarizing documents, and generating charts.

💡Mind mapping

Mind mapping is a technique used to visually organize information. It involves creating a diagram that starts with a central idea and branches out into related concepts or topics. In the context of the video, mind mapping is used to explore and structure a research field, such as organic photovoltaic, by visually connecting related concepts.

💡Literature review

A literature review is a comprehensive analysis of existing research on a particular topic. It is a critical piece of academic writing that provides an overview of current knowledge and identifies gaps in the research. The video suggests using AI tools to assist in starting a literature review, especially when one is new to a research field.

💡Data set

A data set is a collection of data, often used for analysis or machine learning. In the video, the AI tool 'Einblick' is mentioned for generating charts from a data set, which can be uploaded or linked to the tool for visualization purposes.

💡Research assistant

A research assistant, in the context of the video, refers to an AI-driven feature that helps in conducting research. For example, 'Tavali' is highlighted as a tool that creates a custom research agent based on the user's query, which then searches the internet for relevant information.

💡PDF document

A PDF (Portable Document Format) document is a file format used for representing text and images in a manner that is independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. In the video, PDFs are used as a common format for academic papers, which AI tools can process to provide summaries, Q&A, and other insights.

💡AI summary

An AI summary is a condensed version of a longer text or document, created using artificial intelligence. The video mentions 'Open Read' as a tool that provides AI summaries of academic papers, making it easier for researchers to grasp the key points without reading the entire document.

💡Chart generation

Chart generation refers to the process of creating visual representations of data, such as graphs or charts, to illustrate patterns or trends. The video introduces 'Einblick DOI' as an AI tool that simplifies the process of chart generation from a data set by allowing users to describe the desired chart and automatically generating it.

💡Academic research

Academic research is the systematic investigation and study of materials and sources to establish facts and reach new conclusions. The video emphasizes the utility of AI tools in facilitating various aspects of academic research, such as literature review, data analysis, and information synthesis.

💡Free plans

Free plans refer to the offerings by software or service providers that allow users to access basic features without cost. The video discusses several AI tools that have generous free plans, which are particularly beneficial for researchers who may not have the budget for paid subscriptions.

💡Drug and health space

The 'drug and health space' refers to the field of research and development focused on pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and medical treatments. The video mentions 'Next Net' as a tool that is particularly useful for researchers within this space, allowing them to discover new drugs and related literature.

Highlights

Herisa is an AI-driven tool that allows for mind mapping of a research field, offering a comprehensive way to start literature reviews.

Open Read provides a generous free plan with features like paper espressos, Q&A, and AI summaries, ideal for managing and understanding PDF documents.

Explain Paper is a free tool that simplifies complex academic papers into understandable language for various reading levels.

Paper Brain offers AI-generated responses to questions about specific papers, enhancing the understanding of research documents.

Einblick is a chart generation AI that creates charts from datasets with just three simple steps: upload, describe, and generate.

Tavali AI provides a research assistant that creates an agent based on your search query to gather information from the internet.

Power Drill is a powerful tool that allows users to upload data sets and ask questions about them, offering a quick way to review research.

Next Net is a valuable resource for those in the drug and health space, providing a searchable graph of recent literature and research.

Chat GPT, Perplexity, and Bing are general AI chat tools that can be used for research, offering a broad range of responses and capabilities.

Herisa's mind mapping feature is particularly useful for visualizing the pros and cons of different research areas.

With Open Read, users can ask up to five questions per month about a paper, providing in-depth insights into the research.

Explain Paper enables users to get explanations of selected text from academic papers, catering to different levels of understanding.

Paper Brain is run by Dr. Cameron Neylon and provides simple AI-generated summaries of papers, aiding in quick comprehension.

Einblick's chart generation feature is particularly useful for creating initial drafts of data visualizations for presentations.

Tavali AI's research assistant can find specific answers to research questions by conducting proper AI-generated research.

Power Drill's data set upload feature allows for extensive literature review and data extraction from various sources.

Next Net's search functionality is particularly useful for finding new drugs and understanding their effects, especially in the anti-tumor field.

Chat GPT, Perplexity, and Bing can be manipulated to provide more detailed or creative responses, enhancing their utility for research.