Israeli artificial intelligence (AI) startup AI21 Labs is set to kick off with a major game-changer for education and academia by being able to do what its competitor ChatGPT can't: Write essays and actually cite real sources.
This capability is included in the company's new Wordtune Spices program, which is notably a bit different from ChatGPT.
But as ChatGPT has already made waves for its coherence and processing speed and made people fear that it could just simply write essays and emails, the ability of a program that can actually cite things can take this to another dimension entirely.
How does the Israeli AI work? What makes it different from ChatGPT?
ChatGPT's great strength is that after one inputs a prompt, it can respond very quickly and coherently. Consequently, many have feared that it could simply be used to write essays for school or even university admission.
However, the AI chatbot isn't always correct and more importantly, it doesn't usually provide sources. And even if it does, many have pointed out that these sources might not even exist.
This is one of the reasons why many schools and companies have tried to ban ChatGPT's usage.
Wordtune Spices, though, is a bit different.
Unlike ChatGPT, Wordtune Spices doesn't "write" the text in the same way. This means that no one can use it to essentially write an essay for them.
What it does instead, though, is serves as "co-writer." One simply inputs already written text and it offers options to add to the text and improve it.
But more importantly, it also always provides sources.
This addresses something that the AI21 team refers to as "the Achilles' heel of AI-generated text," which is a lack of sources and the chance of factual error.
Admittedly it isn't perfect yet – something to be expected with such a new program. But AI21 Labs is determined to keep advancing it forward, refining it and ironing out the bugs and errors.
"Our mission at AI21 Labs is to change the way people read and write using AI, while focusing on empowering - not removing or replacing - the writer."
Ori Goshen
"Our mission at AI21 Labs is to change the way people read and write using AI while focusing on empowering - not removing or replacing - the writer," AI21 Labs co-founder and co-CEO Ori Goshen said in a statement.
"Spices is a toolbox that melds the best that both man and machine can offer, working alongside writers as a source of inspiration for better, more efficient and more compelling writing, while ensuring that writers themselves have the space and freedom to best express their thoughts, insights and information. The future of writing starts today and we are excited to share it with you."