Perplexity.AI can now read uploaded files
TLDRThe video discusses the update on Perplexity AI, a platform that interfaces with Chat GPT and GPT 3.5, and now allows users to upload documents for analysis. The reviewer tests the feature by uploading a chapter they wrote on race and racism, evaluating the AI's ability to summarize and respond to queries about the document. They compare Perplexity AI's performance to other platforms like Humata, File GPT, and Chat Dooc, noting that while the ability to upload documents is useful, the lack of visual document context and citation features may limit its usefulness for critical thinking and academic research.
Takeaways
- 📚 The speaker reviews the updated features of Perplexity AI, an interface to interact with chat GPT models, including the ability to upload files for analysis.
- 🔄 Perplexity AI now allows users to upload three PDFs per day, competing with other platforms like Humata, File GPT, and Chat Doc.
- 🖼️ The interface remains familiar with a home button, discover button, and a library to view previous threads.
- 📄 Upon uploading a document, Perplexity AI reads and provides insights based on the content, but it also searches the internet for additional information.
- 🔍 The AI's summarization of the uploaded document is generally accurate but may lack the specificity and critical analysis of the author.
- 🤔 The AI struggles with providing detailed and nuanced insights, especially when dealing with complex academic concepts.
- 📊 Perplexity AI's academic mode aims to provide a more formal tone and reference academic papers, but its effectiveness is questionable.
- 💡 The speaker suggests that visual interfaces showing the document alongside the AI's analysis may be more helpful for critical thinking and understanding.
- 🔗 The AI's ability to interact with specific documents is useful, but the format and framing may not be as effective as other platforms.
- 📈 The review highlights the importance of being able to see the source material when using AI for document analysis and study.
- 🚀 The update allowing document uploads is seen as a positive step for Perplexity AI, but there are limitations and potential improvements to be made.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the video?
-The main focus of the video is to provide an update on the capabilities of a program called Perplexity AI, which serves as an interface to Chat GPT and GPT 3.5, and also offers a paid subscription to GPT 4.
How does Perplexity AI handle file uploads?
-Perplexity AI allows users to upload three PDFs per day, enabling them to interact with the content and use it as a basis for research and discussion.
What is the significance of the feature that lets users upload documents to Perplexity AI?
-The document upload feature is significant because it allows users to engage with specific content, enabling the AI to analyze and discuss the material directly, thus facilitating more targeted and relevant conversations.
What are some limitations the reviewer noticed when using Perplexity AI to analyze a specific document?
-The reviewer noted that while Perplexity AI can access the internet, it sometimes looks beyond the uploaded document, potentially diluting or misinterpreting the original content. Additionally, the lack of a clear citation or highlighting feature may make it harder to trace the source of the information.
How does Perplexity AI compare to other interfaces like Humata, File GPT, and Chat Dooc?
-Perplexity AI offers similar functionalities to these other interfaces, such as document uploading and analysis. However, the reviewer found that the visual aspect of other interfaces, where the document is visibly highlighted alongside the AI's responses, might be more conducive to critical thinking and understanding.
What is the reviewer's opinion on the summarization capabilities of Perplexity AI and similar programs?
-The reviewer acknowledges that Perplexity AI and similar programs can provide adequate general summaries, but they also note that these summaries might be too general or boilerplate, and may not capture the nuances of the original document.
How does the 'Academic' mode in Perplexity AI work?
-The 'Academic' mode is designed to modify the language and tone of the AI's responses to be more formal and suitable for academic research. It also supposedly directs the AI to consider published academic papers in its analysis.
What is the reviewer's verdict on whether Perplexity AI is as useful as other interfaces?
-The reviewer concludes that while Perplexity AI is a useful tool for document analysis and has improved by allowing document uploads, they believe other interfaces like Humata, File GPT, and Chat Dooc may offer a more user-friendly and visually effective experience for critical analysis.
What is the reviewer's advice for users considering using Perplexity AI?
-The reviewer encourages users to try out Perplexity AI to see if it suits their needs, but also suggests exploring other interfaces that might offer a more visually comprehensive experience for a better understanding and critical engagement with the material.
What is the limitation on the number of documents that can be uploaded per day on Perplexity AI?
-Users are limited to uploading three PDFs per day on Perplexity AI, after which they reach their limit and may be encouraged to subscribe to a paid service.
Outlines
📝 Overview of Perplexity AI and File Upload Feature
The speaker begins by introducing Perplexity AI, a platform that interfaces with Chat GPT and GPT 3.5, and also offers access to GPT 4 with a paid subscription. The main focus of this update is to discuss the new feature that allows users to upload files, specifically PDFs, for analysis and interaction. The speaker notes that this feature puts Perplexity AI in competition with other platforms like Humata, File GPT, and Chat Doc, which also allow document uploads for research purposes. The interface of Perplexity AI is familiar, with a home button, discover button, and library button to view previous threads. The speaker then demonstrates the file upload feature by uploading a chapter they wrote about race and racism, querying the AI about the chapter's content and importance, and discussing the AI's response in relation to the original text.
🤔 Analyzing the Effectiveness of Perplexity AI's Document Analysis
The speaker continues the discussion by evaluating the effectiveness of Perplexity AI's document analysis. They note that while the AI can access the internet, it focuses solely on the uploaded document for the analysis. The speaker tests the AI's ability to summarize and interpret their chapter on race and racism, comparing the AI's summary with their own intentions and contributions as the author. They find that while the AI's summary is not inaccurate, it is somewhat general and lacks the specificity of their intended contributions. The speaker also raises concerns about the AI pulling from multiple sources when they are only interested in the uploaded document, potentially diluting or misinterpreting the original analysis.
📚 Comparing Perplexity AI with Other Document Analysis Platforms
In this section, the speaker compares Perplexity AI with other document analysis platforms like Humak, File GPT, and Chat Doc. They discuss the benefits of these platforms, such as the ability to see citations and highlighted text, which can aid in critical thinking and understanding. The speaker notes that while Perplexity AI allows document uploads, it does not provide the same level of detail in terms of source identification as other platforms. They also mention that Perplexity AI's summarization abilities are similar to other AI interfaces but lack the visual aids that could enhance comprehension and critical analysis.
🔍 Further Exploration of Perplexity AI's Features and Limitations
The speaker delves deeper into Perplexity AI's features, exploring the academic mode and its impact on the AI's language and analysis. They upload another document, Frederick Jameson's article on postmodernism, to test the AI's understanding of complex academic concepts. The speaker finds that while the AI can provide summaries, it may not offer the depth of insight needed for nuanced academic debates. They also note that the AI does not allow interaction with multiple documents simultaneously, which could be a limitation for users looking to compare or contrast different sources.
📈 Final Thoughts on Perplexity AI and Its Utility
The speaker concludes their review by summarizing their thoughts on Perplexity AI. They acknowledge the utility of the document upload feature but express that the platform's format and lack of visual aids may not be as useful as other frameworks like Kumata, Chat PDF, and Charlie AI. The speaker encourages viewers to try out Perplexity AI for themselves to see if it meets their needs, but suggests that other platforms might offer a more comprehensive and visually accessible experience for academic research and critical analysis.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Perplexity AI
💡Chat GPT
💡File Upload
💡Summarization
💡Critical Thinking
💡Interface
💡Academic Research
💡Racism
💡Postmodernism
💡Citations
💡Multi-Dimensional
Highlights
Perplexity AI is an interface to chat with GPT or GPT 3.5 and also offers a paid subscription to GPT 4.
Perplexity AI allows users to upload files, specifically up to three PDFs per day.
The program competes with other interfaces like Humata, File GPT, and Chat Doc that also permit document uploads for research purposes.
The interface of Perplexity AI is similar across different videos, featuring a home button, discover button, and library button.
Upon uploading a document, Perplexity AI reads the file and provides a summary based on its content, showing it's looking at only that source.
The AI breaks down the concepts of racism into institutional, systemic, and overt forms, which aligns with the content of the uploaded chapter.
Perplexity AI also identifies end notes or footnotes in the document and provides insights from them.
The AI provides a summary that captures the essence of the chapter on race and racism, although the author suggests it might be a bit general.
When asking about specific examples of racism, Perplexity AI considers multiple sources, which could potentially dilute the focus on the uploaded document.
The AI extracts and uses sentences from the uploaded document to answer questions, demonstrating its ability to interact with the text.
Perplexity AI offers an 'academic' mode for a more formal tone and possibly accessing published academic papers.
The reviewer suggests that other interfaces like Humata, File GPT, or Chat Doc might be more useful due to their visual features, such as highlighting and citations.
Perplexity AI's ability to upload documents is a useful feature, but the format and framing may not be as effective as other platforms.
The program is another tool for document analysis and can help users unpack and understand the content of their files.
The reviewer encourages users to try out Perplexity AI to see if it is useful for their needs.
The limit of three documents per day for free users might encourage users to subscribe to the paid version of the service.