Hey, Ashwin here! Welcome to edition #7 of the Tech Lead Compass newsletter!
If you’ve been following the advancements in the AI (Artificial Intelligence) space, it will be no surprise to you that tons of models and apps are released every single day.
AI solutions come in various forms and solve a wide range of use cases. Though the evolution is still at its nascent stage, I see a few trends emerging.
In this post, I talk about three types or categories of AI solutions – AI tools, AI assistants, AI agents – why they exist and what problems they solve.
Here’s a comparison of the various types of AI solutions, their applicability, and ease of implementation.
Let’s start with the first one.
#1 AI Tools
This is something most of us are familiar with.
AI tools are software applications that using artificial intelligence and models, to perform specific tasks and solve problems.
ChatGPT, Copilot, and Perplexity are good examples of this.
What are their characteristics?
They offer a standard interface to interact (web app, mobile app, etc.)
They are useful for general-purpose use cases (e.g., summarizing an article, tightening a paragraph, understanding a specific topic, etc.)
With prompt engineering, they can understand your context and generate better content
They are good as a general-purpose vehicle, covering majority of an average person’s needs.
#2 AI Assistants
How do they differ from an AI tool? Not by a huge margin.
AI Assistants are a specific adaptation of AI tools that make it easier and simpler to use an application or a website
Have you seen the AI assistant in Notion, that helps you write? It is an AI assistant.
AI assistants are very context-specific and assist you with specific activities
They make use of one or more AI tools behind the scenes
With continuous usage, they can adapt and assist you better
#3 AI Agents
AI Agents take the game to the next level.
AI Agents are designed to perceive the environment, process signals, and take actions to achieve specific goals.
These agents can be software-based or physical entities and are commonly built using artificial intelligence techniques.
AI agents typically have 3 distinct components:
Sensors & Perception Layer – process signals and find out what’s happening in the environment
Skills Layer – to examine different options based on inputs
Decision Layer – to take actions and send it to the target environment
This space is still nascent. Auto-GPT, BabyAGI are some frameworks gaining traction.
There is consensus that most growth will be here – to automate workflows and perform actions that otherwise require complex decision-making.
Now on to the must-read news from the past week…
5 “Must-Read” Tech News for the Week
ChatGPT can now be used without an account (TechCrunch)
You’ll be able to use ChatGPT without logging in or creating an account, sans some features. You won’t be able to save or share chats, use custom instructions, or access other features associated with a persistent account.
Amazon ditches “grab-and-go” at Amazon Fresh grocery stores (Ars Technica)
Amazon Fresh has decided to discontinue its cashier-less “Just Walk Out” technology in its grocery stores.
This technology was intended to allow customers to grab items from the store and leave without going through a traditional checkout process. However, it never appeared to have worked as an AI solution.
Replit has one of the best AI coding assistants around. They are launching Replit Teams, which allows developers to collaborate in real-time on software projects while an AI agent automatically fixes coding errors.
Google looking to acquire HubSpot (Reuters)
Google is weighing options to buy HubSpot, a marketing technology company, for $35 billion.
OpenAI is expanding its program called Custom Model, which aims to assist enterprise customers in developing tailored generative AI models. These models can be customized for specific use cases, domains, and applications.
That’s it for now and I will be back next week. Goodbye, until then!
In case you missed the past articles, feel free to read them from here:
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