It is that time of the year again. Time Magazine has put together the best 200 inventions for the year 2023. The announcement includes ingenious inventions from across domains such as accessibility, Artificial Intelligence, apps and software, AR/VR, beauty, consumer electronics, etc. The list features an assortment of gadgets and software from established technology brands as well as barely known startups.

 AI tools have been making waves across the world since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Ever since then, there has been a barrage of AI tools and applications. Time Magazine’s list included some of the best AI apps and tools that caught our attention. Here they are:

GPT-4 from OpenAI

The coveted magazine has described GPT-4 as the most powerful AI model that is accessible to the public. GPT-4 excels at verbal reasoning and can explain complex concepts in simple language. In September, the makers rolled out the ability to let users interact with the model using voice and images as inputs. Later, in a subsequent update, GPT-4V verbally describes the contents of a picture in natural language. GPT-4 is currently accessible only to ChatGPT Plus users, however, there are numerous ways to use GPT-4 for free with tools like Bing, HuggingFace, Poe, etc. 

Runway Gen-2
Gen-2 is an AI video software created by Runway, a Google-backed startup. It is to be noted that visual effects tools created by this company were used in the Hollywood blockbuster ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’. Gen-2 is capable of creating videos from text prompts, images, or other videos as prompts. We tried the Gen-2 tool and were impressed by the output. Although not perfect, there is room for refinement such as offering precise descriptions or using images as prompts. 

Photo Editing Outside The Box

Earlier this year, Adobe endowed Photoshop with its AI image generator – Firefly. The new addition has brought features such as Generative Expand and Generative Fill. While Generative Expand allows users to fill in content well beyond the borders of an image, Generative Fill lets users add or delete aspects of an existing image using text prompts. One need not have technical expertise to use this. The biggest advantage of this update is that it amplifies a user’s imagination.

Humane’s AI Pin

Ai Pin is the first product from Humane, an AI startup that has been founded by former execs of Apple. The lightweight device can be pinned to your garment and projects calls and other information straight to your palms. This essentially makes smartphones obsolete. While the company has yet to launch the device officially, it turned heads during the recent Paris Fashion Week when it was spotted on supermodel Naomi Campbell. AI Pin is made using proprietary software and OpenAI’s GPT. It allows users to ask complex questions, make calls, and send and receive text messages. There is also a built-in camera that can identify objects and give information. The device has been developed keeping in mind the privacy and security of the users. It is likely to be launched on November 9.

Dall-E 3 from OpenAI

Dall-E 3 is OpenAI’s ultimate AI tool for making images using text prompts. However, the company has enhanced the text-to-image model significantly. The model which was invented by OpenAI’s Aditya Ramesh can now be accessed by ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users. The AI tool enables anyone to create images and they do not need to learn any technical language.

Meta SeamlessM4T

In August, Meta released SeamlessM4T, an AI model that can translate and transcribe nearly 100 languages. SeamlessM4T is the first all-in-one multilingual multimodal AI translation and transcription model. It is capable of translating in a variety of formats such as text-to-speech, speech-to-speech, speech-to-text, or text-to-speech. Despite working with more languages, the system is claimed to be more efficient and is less-error prone. Besides, the model is open source, which allows researchers around the world to use its code. 

Dedrone City-Wide Drone Detection

Dedrone is a leading provider of airspace security. The company has developed Dedrone City-Wide which is a drone detection solution that gives security and a quick view of the airspace with their app. According to Time Magazine, the device offers a virtual shield around a geographical area and warns law enforcement agencies within seconds in case a drone enters the designated airspace.

Alitheon FuturePrint

This is one of the handiest tools that can help you determine the authenticity of anything – from jewellery to handbags. FuturePrint from Alitheon is essentially an optical AI technology that can authenticate products by simply taking pictures. The software examines intricate details on the surface of objects and fingerprints them into something known as unique mathematical identities. 

Astounding Mimicry: So-VITS-SVC

The open-source software So-VITS-SVC allows users to train a neural network based on a singer’s voice and later produce songs using the AI-generated voice. The tool came to the limelight after the AI-generated track ‘Heart on my sleeve’ with convincing vocals of Drake and the Weeknd went viral. This has paved the way for many AI tools to create voice-based services.

Stopping Wildfires: AlertCalifornia and Cal Fire AI Wildfire Detector

This is an AI fire detection tool that can come as a saviour, as detecting wildfires is often a daunting task. Cal Fire is an outcome of the efforts by the University of California San Diego’s public safety program – AlertCalifornia. The program trained AI to detect smoke and other early signs of fire with the help of over 1,050 cameras deployed across the forest. According to the listing in Time, the AI system correctly identified 77 fires much before 911 calls. 

Trailguard AI 

Resolve, a US-based environmental organisation, is offering an innovative way to counter the threat of poaching that is driving many species of animals to extinction. The company has developed a tool named Trailguard AI that has tiny cameras that are powered by Intel that monitor endangered species and spot poachers. 

Project Gutenberg Open Audiobook Collection

After becoming the first free provider of ebooks, Project Gutenberg is now opening the world to its audiobook collection. Microsoft and MIT have collaborated to make the Open Audiobook Collection with the help of text-to-speech technology to turn close to 5,000 books into audiobooks. These are now available on Spotify and the software that is powering this is also being offered for free. 

Audioshake

Audioshake is a company headed by Jessica Powell. The company came to prominence owing to its use of AI to deconstruct songs into instrumentals. According to Powell, the company makes audio interactive and editable and this makes it possible to fuel some of the most practical uses for artists to earn money.

The above-listed AI tools come with a plethora of use cases, tell us what tool are you excited about in the comments section. 

Resource : https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/artificial-intelligence/time-magazine-best-inventions-of-2023-top-ai-tools-9000899/