Summarize Articles: Free AI tools for Research Paper Understanding

Andy Stapleton
8 Jan 202408:05

TLDRThe video discusses the challenges of reading academic papers and introduces two free AI tools that simplify the process without requiring a subscription. The first tool, Size Space, offers a dashboard for literature review, data extraction from PDFs, AI co-pilot reading, and paraphrasing. It has limitations but is praised for its new feature that extracts data from uploaded PDFs, providing summaries and conclusions. The second tool, Explain Paper, is similar to the AI co-pilot and offers unlimited explanations, follow-up questions, and context-based clarifications. Both tools are currently free and aim to save time by summarizing and interacting with academic texts, making research more accessible.

Takeaways

  • 💸 Many AI tools for reading academic papers require a subscription fee, which can be costly.
  • 🆓 Two free tools are recommended for reading academic papers using AI: Size.Space and ExplainPaper.
  • 📈 Size.Space offers a dashboard with various features including literature review, data extraction from PDFs, AI co-pilot reading, and paraphrasing.
  • 📄 The 'Extract Data from PDFs' feature in Size.Space allows users to upload a PDF for quick summaries and analysis.
  • 🤖 AI co-pilot in Size.Space helps to ask questions, highlight text, and request explanations or summaries of specific sections.
  • 🚀 Start with an abstract and skim through the paper, using AI co-pilot to clarify any uncertain points.
  • 📚 ExplainPaper provides similar functionality to the co-pilot, offering unlimited explanations and the ability to ask follow-up questions.
  • 🔍 When using ExplainPaper, you can adjust the level of explanation to suit your understanding, from a middle schooler to an expert.
  • 📊 Size.Space also allows for an overview of different sections of a paper, such as abstract, results, and methods used.
  • ⏱️ These tools save time by summarizing and simplifying the process of reading academic papers.
  • 📝 Users can interact with the text by highlighting and asking questions, making the learning process more engaging.
  • ⚠️ It's important to note that while these tools are currently free, policies may change, and fees could be introduced in the future.

Q & A

  • What is the main issue with AI tools for reading academic papers mentioned in the transcript?

    -The main issue is that many AI tools for reading academic papers require a subscription fee, which can be quite expensive.

  • What are the two free tools recommended for reading academic papers using AI?

    -The two free tools recommended are 'Size Space' and 'Explain Paper'.

  • What feature of Size Space allows users to extract data from PDFs?

    -Size Space has a feature that allows users to upload a PDF and receive a summarized abstract, conclusions, and other key points from the paper.

  • How does the AI co-pilot feature in Size Space assist users in understanding papers?

    -The AI co-pilot allows users to upload a paper, ask questions, highlight sections for explanation, and request summaries or related papers, providing simple explanations to complex academic content.

  • What is the main advantage of starting with an abstract when reading a paper?

    -Starting with an abstract gives a quick overview of the paper's content, allowing readers to decide if they need to delve deeper into the material.

  • How does Explain Paper assist users in understanding academic papers?

    -Explain Paper allows users to highlight sections of a paper and request explanations tailored to different levels of understanding, from a middle schooler to an expert.

  • What is the significance of skimming and highlighting in the process of reading academic papers?

    -Skimming and highlighting help readers identify sections they don't understand or need clarification on, making it easier to use tools like AI co-pilot for further explanation.

  • Why is it beneficial to ask follow-up questions when using AI tools for paper understanding?

    -Asking follow-up questions helps to clarify specific points of confusion, allowing for a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the academic material.

  • How does the transcript suggest managing the process of reading and understanding academic papers?

    -The transcript suggests using a workflow that starts with abstracts, followed by skimming and highlighting, and then using AI tools like Size Space and Explain Paper for in-depth understanding and clarification.

  • What is the potential downside mentioned about free AI tools for academic paper reading?

    -The potential downside is that these tools may start charging fees in the future, as mentioned with the current state of other tools that have begun to require subscriptions.

  • What additional resources does the speaker mention for further assistance in academic paper reading?

    -The speaker mentions their 'Effus Academia' course, which includes downloadable resources, book recommendations, and lifetime access to updated content.

  • How does the speaker describe the process of using AI tools to understand academic papers as a 'workflow'?

    -The speaker describes it as a workflow because it involves a sequence of steps, starting with reading abstracts, using AI tools for explanations, and asking follow-up questions to build a comprehensive understanding of the paper.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Academic Paper Reading Tools: Subscriptions vs. Free Options

The speaker discusses the frustration of reading academic papers and the financial barriers often associated with AI tools designed to assist in this process. They mention several services like OpenReads, Chat PDF, Humata, Lateral, Paper Brain, and Unriddle, all of which require monthly fees. The speaker then introduces two free tools: Size.Space and ExplainPaper, which offer features like literature review assistance, data extraction from PDFs, AI co-pilot reading, and paraphrasing. Size.Space is highlighted for its ability to summarize papers and provide easy access to conclusions, while ExplainPaper is noted for its free, unlimited explanations and question-asking capabilities. The speaker emphasizes the importance of starting with an abstract and skimming the paper, using these tools to clarify sections that are not immediately understandable.

05:02

🔍 Deep Dives and Summaries: Navigating Academic Articles

The second paragraph focuses on how to effectively read and understand academic papers without having to read them in their entirety. The speaker recommends using Size.Space to get an overview of different papers in one's library and to quickly access summarized abstracts, results, and methods. They also suggest using the AI co-pilot feature to ask questions about the paper and receive explanations. If the co-pilot's credits run out, the speaker recommends ExplainPaper, which provides unlimited explanations for free. The speaker emphasizes the ease of use and the benefit of these tools in developing a 'sixth sense' for a particular research area. They also promote their effus Academia course for further resources and conclude by encouraging viewers to check out related content on the potential end of traditional academic papers.

Mindmap

Keywords

Academic Papers

Academic papers are scholarly articles that present research results and are typically published in academic journals. They are an essential part of academic discourse and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in various fields. In the video, the author discusses the challenges of reading these papers and introduces tools to assist with understanding them.

AI Tools

AI tools in the context of this video refer to software applications that utilize artificial intelligence to assist with tasks such as summarizing, explaining, and extracting data from academic papers. The video highlights the use of AI to make the process of reading and understanding academic papers more accessible and efficient.

Subscription Model

A subscription model is a type of business model where users pay a recurring fee to access a service or product. The video mentions several AI tools for academic paper reading that require a subscription, which the author finds expensive and unnecessary for the purpose of reading papers.

Size Space

Size Space is one of the free AI tools mentioned in the video that offers services such as literature review, data extraction from PDFs, AI co-pilot reading, and paraphrasing. It is highlighted as a tool that helps in summarizing and understanding academic papers without the need for a subscription.

AI Co-Pilot

AI Co-Pilot is a feature within the Size Space tool that allows users to upload papers and ask questions about them. It provides explanations and summaries of highlighted text, aiding in the comprehension of complex academic content. The video demonstrates how this feature can be used to enhance understanding of specific sections of a paper.

Explain Paper

Explain Paper is another free tool introduced in the video that offers similar functionalities to AI Co-Pilot. It allows users to highlight sections of a paper and request explanations in a simplified manner, tailored to the user's understanding level. The tool is praised for its ease of use and effectiveness in breaking down academic content.

Abstract

An abstract is a brief summary of an academic paper that presents the main points of the research, typically including the research questions, methods, results, and conclusions. The video emphasizes the importance of starting with an abstract when reading a paper and using AI tools to further explain it.

Highlighting Text

Highlighting text is a method used in the video to select specific parts of an academic paper that the user wants to understand better. This action triggers the AI tool to focus on explaining or summarizing the highlighted section, which is particularly useful for clarifying complex concepts or terminology.

Follow-up Questions

Follow-up questions are used in the context of the AI tools to further probe and gain a deeper understanding of the content in an academic paper. The video demonstrates how users can interact with the AI by asking follow-up questions to get more detailed explanations.

Pleasure in Sexuality Curricula

This phrase from the video is an example of a topic within an academic paper that the AI tools can help explain. It represents the kind of specific subject matter that might be difficult for readers to understand without the assistance of an AI summarization or explanation tool.

Optimal Sexuality

Optimal sexuality is a concept mentioned in the video, relating to a paper on sexuality education. It is an example of the kind of advanced or specialized topics that academic papers may cover, which can be made more accessible through the use of AI tools for summarization and explanation.

Highlights

Reading academic papers can be a daunting task, but there are AI tools available to assist.

Many AI tools for reading academic papers require a subscription fee, which can be expensive.

The presenter introduces two free AI tools for understanding academic papers without a subscription: Size Space and Explain Paper.

Size Space offers a dashboard for various tasks including literature review, data extraction from PDFs, and AI co-pilot reading.

With Size Space, users can upload a PDF to get a summarized abstract and conclusions.

The AI co-pilot feature in Size Space allows users to ask questions about highlighted sections of a paper for a simplified explanation.

Explain Paper provides a similar service to Size Space's co-pilot, offering unlimited highlight explanations and follow-up questions.

Explain Paper breaks down complex academic text into simpler language, catering explanations to different levels of understanding.

The presenter suggests starting with the abstract of a paper and skimming through it, highlighting and asking questions on parts that are unclear.

Both Size Space and Explain Paper are currently free to use, but the presenter notes that this could change as companies often start charging for their services.

The presenter emphasizes the efficiency of these tools in saving time by summarizing and interacting with academic texts.

The video also mentions an Academia course with downloadable resources and book recommendations.

The presenter discusses the potential end of traditional academic papers due to the development of new AI tools.

The video is a guide on how to read academic articles using AI tools for free.

The presenter provides a workflow for free academic paper understanding using Size Space and Explain Paper.

The video aims to take the guesswork out of finding the most important information in academic papers.

The presenter offers a link to an Academia course in the video description for further learning.

The video is a valuable resource for those looking to understand academic papers more efficiently and effectively.