Time Magazine has compiled the top 200 inventions for the year 2023.
What does it contain?
The list includes inventions spanning categories such as accessibility, Artificial Intelligence, apps and software, AR/VR, beauty, consumer electronics, etc.
It features gadgets and software from established technology brands as well as little known startups.
AI tools in particular have been making quite the reputation of themselves though, ever since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Since then, there have been quite a bunch of AI tools and applications.
Time Magazine listed some of the best AI apps and tools that caught widespread attention.
GPT-4 from OpenAI
TIME dubbed it the most powerful AI model accessible to the public.
It works best with verbal reasoning and can explain complex concepts in simple language.
The makers also rolled out the ability to let users interact with the model using voice and images as inputs back in September.
And it also turns out that GPT-4V can apparently verbally describe the contents of a picture in natural language.
Do note it currently is available to only ChatGPT Plus users, however, there are numerous ways to use it with tools like Bing, HuggingFace, Poe, etc.
Runway Gen-2
Gen-2, an AI software, was created by Runway, a Google-backed startup.
It created visual effects tools that Hollywood used in the Oscar-winning film Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Gen-2 is capable of creating videos from text prompts, images, or other videos as prompts.
That it is a brilliant invention is to say the least.
It is not perfect, of course, and it could do with offering precise descriptions or using images as prompts.
Photo Editing Outside The Box
Adobe endowed Photoshop with its AI image generator – Firefly earlier this year.
It brought features such as Generative Expand and Generative Fill.
The former allows users to fill in content well beyond the borders of an image.
The latter lets users add or delete aspects of an existing image using text prompts.
The best part is one need not have technical expertise to use this.
Humane’s AI Pin
Humane is an AI startup that has been founded by former execs of Apple.
They have come out with Ai Pin, their first product.
It is a lightweight device that is pinned to the garment, which then projects calls and other information straight to your palms.
It has not been officially launched, however it made a splash at the recently held Paris Fashion Week when it was spotted on supermodel Naomi Campbell.
The product has been made using proprietary software and OpenAI’s GPT.
It allows users to ask complex questions, make calls, and send and receive text messages.
It also features a built-in camera that can identify objects and supply information.
It has been built with focus on privacy and security of the users.
AI Pin is expected to be launched on November 9.
Dall-E 3 from OpenAI
This is the latest version of OpenAI’s ultimate AI tool which generates images from text prompts.
Invented by OpenAI’s Aditya Ramesh, it can now be accessed by ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users.
The plus point is that users need not have technical expertise to be able to use its capabilities.
Meta SeamlessM4T
In August, Meta released SeamlessM4T, an AI model that can translate and transcribe nearly 100 languages.
It is the first all-in-one multilingual multimodal AI translation and transcription model.
This is a fancy way of saying that the tool can translate in a variety of formats such as text-to-speech, speech-to-speech, speech-to-text, or text-to-speech.
Despite working with a wider variety of languages, it is claimed to be more efficient and less error prone.
Moreover, the model is open source so researchers around the world will be able to use its code.
Dedrone City-Wide Drone Detection
Dedrone is a leading provider of airspace security which has built Dedrone City-Wide.
It is a drone detection solution that is secure and provides a quick view of the airspace with their app.
Time Magazine says 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 another extremely useful tool in that it helps determine the authenticity of anything – from jewellery to handbags.
It is essentially an optical AI technology that can authenticate products by simply taking pictures.
It looks at intricate details on the surface of objects and fingerprints them into something known as unique mathematical identities.
Astounding Mimicry: So-VITS-SVC
This particular tool has been in controversy after it produced the AI-generated track ‘Heart on my sleeve’ with convincing vocals of Drake and the Weeknd which went viral.
It did so by training a neural network based on a singer’s voice and later produce songs using the AI-generated voice.
