Discover more from JournalistsToolbox.ai

Journalist's Toolbox (TM) AI shares tools, plug-ins, browser extensions and other artificial intelligence resources that are helpful to professional journalists, students, educators, marketers and others.

Over 7,000 subscribers

Back to School, Pt. 1: Generative AI in Google Search | ChatGPT Detection Tools

Aug. 8, 2023

Mike Reilley

Aug 8, 2023

Note: This is the first installment of a three-part “back-to-school” series on basic AI tools for student (and professional) journalists.

Since its I/O conference on May 10, Google has started moving several new search features and add-ons to its current products that present many new options to its long-reliable search algorithm.

Unlike Google’s stark-white results page with 10 blue links, its generative AI results appear in colorful boxes above the normal search results. Google scrapes information from all over the web and presents it in a simple list, putting ChatGPT-style generative AI results front and center in the results page.

The changes weren’t just to Google search. The company also announced:

Maps with Immersive View for Routes, Magic Editor for Photos, and interactive ChatGPT-type dialogue in Google Search
Google Bard, the company’s answer to ChatGPT, integrated with Adobe Firefly to allow text-to-image capabilities in Bard.
Google Sheets now offers a “Help Me Organize” feature on the right side of the sheet that helps you build tables right into a template. For instance, you can author a prompt telling it to build a table for tracking automobile thefts in Munich, Germany, and you’ll get a table header built with columns where to flow data. As with an AI-generated template, you’ll want to edit it to your specific needs. This can be helpful not just for data reporters but for invoicing, budgeting, etc. for freelancers.

Over the summer, Google introduced its “AI overhaul” through its Search Labs site over a period of weeks in the summer of 2023.

How does this help journalists?

With some searches, Google shows a snapshot of an AI-driven chatbot response at the top of the results, suggest prompts for follow up questions, and provide more links at the top with the typical search results underneath. Clicking on the prompts opens a conversational module right in the search page. This helps with searches that don't always have a clear answer, so AI can help tailor the search more.
Borrowing a page from TikTok, Google added a "Perspectives" filter at the top of the search page displaying user-generated content such as long- and short-form videos, posts from social media sites and discussion boards. Information about the creators and the popularity of the post appear at the top, which is helpful for fact-checking.

Bing’s AI transition

Google wasn’t the only search giant to add more AI features this summer. Microsoft Bing and Edge has more visual search with rich image and video answers in its results. It shifted from single-use chat sessions to a multi-session, context experience with chat history and persistent chat within Edge. Learn more in this video:

More AI: Train ChatGPT to Understand Your Needs

Note: These prompts won’t produce perfect results every time. But use what you can. Just as you wouldn’t use everything from a Google search or other research, apply your critical-thinking skills and use what works. These prompts should train ChatGPT to better understand your writing and editing needs.

Writing style:

Analyze the text below for style, voice, and tone. Create a prompt to write a new paragraph in the same style, voice, and tone: [insert your text]

Editing your work:

Edit the following text. It's for my [newsletter/paragraph/essay]. [paste text]

Memorization:

What are the most important facts, dates, or formulas related to (topic)? Help me create a memorization technique to remember them easily.

Learn from a mistake:

I made a mistake while practicing (skill). Can you explain what went wrong and how I can avoid making the same mistake in the future?

Simplify complex information:

Break down the (topic) into smaller, easier-to-understand parts. Use analogies and real-life examples to simplify the concept and make it more relatable.

Funny way to simplify:

Rewrite the [text] as if I was a 10-year-old

Summarize into bullet points:

Summarize this article into a bulleted list of the most important information [paste article]

Change writing style:

Change the writing style of the text below to [tone] [paste text] Use case: Easily make an informative paragraph humorous and easier to read.

Brainstorming:

Brainstorm 20 trending ideas for a Twitter thread on recent breaking AI news

AI Detection Tools

Students: Think twice before asking AI to write a story for you. It will likely have errors, and your instructors can easily check if you used AI tools by running the stories through this software:

GPTZero
Detect ChatGPT, GPT3, GPT4, Bard, and other AI models. Various settings for AI and human + AI.

Copyleaks
AI detection tool. Free with paid upgrades. Available as a Chrome extension as well.

WinstonAI
Free AI detection tool with paid upgrades. Tracks several tools, including Claude.

Best Colleges: Best AI Detection Software
Free AI detection tool with paid upgrades. Tracks several tools, including Claude.Stu

Want More Training?

Contact Mike Reilley at mikereilley1 (at) gmail (dot) com to schedule an AI tools training for your staff.

Also consider a paid subscription to this newsletter or donate to Buy Me a Beer so I can build more training videos.

More AI Tools

Connexun
Known as the “The Ultimate AI News Engine,” the site uses artificial intelligence to turn unstructured news content into actionable data. Source real-time multilingual headlines, articles, and dynamic summaries from thousands of open web sources. Leverage intelligent algorithms and news-centric features such as news topic ranking, extraction-based summarization, and more to filter news for different types of users. Track news in real time across 20,000 highly trusted sources. Monthly plans start at $10 with a free trial.
Adobe Speech Enhancer
Speech enhancement makes voice recordings sound as if they were recorded in a professional studio. Be careful with ethics and edits with this tool
ChatGPT Prompt Genius
Write better prompts with this Chrome extension
IMG Larger
An AI-driven image enlarger

Data + Journalism Textbook

Samantha Sunne and I co-authored a textbook, “Data + Journalism” that’s available now on Routledge. (Order here). It’s an introductory to intermediate-level guide to learning data storytelling from A to Z.

It features examples, interviews, links to tools and dozens of practical exercises to learn how to find, scrape, clean, visualize and write with data. We also explore ethics, transparency and basic math skills. We even offer a bonus chapter — Chapter 13 — on diversity and inclusion for free on our blog.

In Quotes …

“The real question is, when will we draft an artificial intelligence bill of rights? What will that consist of? And who will get to decide that?” ― Gray Scott

Follow me @itsmikereilley | @journtoolbox | Subscribe on YouTube | Subscribe to this newsletter