The Genesis: A Tale of iChatBook's Conception
Consider this narrative: the narrative about iChatBook's birth. You might fall into the trap of thinking there exists a multitude of venues where one can engage in a conversation with their book using AI. This, my friends, is a mirage. Our journey led us to this realization, and it's an insight we're preparing to share with you.
The Quest: In Search of AI-Driven Book Conversations
Envision this - you have a book, and you're craving for an interactive dialogue with it. You're on a mission to extract particular nuggets of information from it. So, you embark on a quest. You might turn to search engines, directories of AI applications, or perhaps stumble upon the solution through other means developed by the serendipity of the internet.
The Reality: The Fallacy of AI-Book Dialogues
Your quest will inevitably lead you to a realization. There exist a couple of sites that boast of AI-Book dialogues. But when you dive into these platforms, it becomes apparent that you're not actually conversing with your books.
The Experiment: Testing the AI-Book Interaction
Take an example. There's one platform that provided a web app. You enter and are presented with a selection of public library books to choose from. You pick "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki. But when you attempt to initiate a conversation with this book, it's like talking to a wall. It's akin to posing questions to ChatGPT. Now, "Rich Dad Poor Dad" is copyrighted material, so logically, ChatGPT shouldn't have access to the content of this book.
The Inadequacy: The Limited Reach of AI
Sure, you might find fragments of information from various online sources - book summaries, reviews, and the like. However, the vital essence of the book, the 'secret sauce' as I like to call it, will be missing from your AI-Book interaction.
The Frustration: AI's Inaccurate Response
You ask the question, "how much did Bell want for his phone?" You hope for a direct answer, but instead, you're met with a response that neither answers your query nor accurately represents the book's content. This wasted effort, the expended breath and calories typing into the text box, is a frustrating experience.
The Second Attempt: Another Stint at AI-Book Interaction
Not one to be easily defeated, you decide to give another platform a try. This one doesn’t offer a web app, but mobile applications for iPhone and Android. You pose the same question, "how much did Bell want for his phone?" The response you receive is equally disheartening. It's apparent that the AI has failed; you know the correct answer because you've read the book.
The iChatBook Experiment: Our Platform's Turn
Then, you decide to put iChatBook to the test. You ask the same question. The response you receive exceeds your expectations - you not only get the exact figure Bell asked for his phone but also additional contextual information. It's the response that truly adds value, enhancing your learning, entertainment, and book comprehension.
The Intricacy: Variance in AI Responses
The divergence in responses from different platforms can be traced back to the ambiguity of the term 'chatting with your book using AI'. This phrase can be interpreted in multiple ways, leading to misconceptions and false expectations.
The Bookstore Analogy: Misinformation in AI
To put it in perspective, imagine walking into a bookstore and asking the bookseller a question about a book. Their response will depend on whether they've read the book or not. If they haven't, they might give you a generalized response, akin to what the other AI platforms provided. This is what we refer to as 'hallucination' in AI parlance - the application providing incorrect, misleading information.
The Trick: Unmasking AI Hallucinations
If you want to test whether an AI application is 'hallucinating', try this little trick. Ask a question that is completely unrelated to the book. If you receive an answer, you can infer that the application is not truly enabling you to chat with the book, but providing generalized answers based on an internet-wide data model.
The Conclusion: A Word of Caution in the AI Landscape
So, be on your guard. Understand the landscape and the services that claim to allow you to chat with your books. Now that you know how to compare these services, you are well-equipped to extract valuable information and interact effectively with your books. Happy reading! Thank you.