Google's Gemini - Using it effectively in academic research

2023 has brought much excitement with the entry of Gemini, Google’s new AI solution to… everything! Google DeepMind has announced that Gemini has outperformed GPT-4 in 30 out of 32 standard tests. This video shows the incredibly human-like versatility and “multimodality” that Gemini is capable of. We have all recently witnessed the language-agnostic abilities of AI, breaking down international barriers with tsunami-like speed to accelerate the pathway towards new innovations and advancement. What can Gemini do to make a researcher’s work more efficient and productive? What novel capabilities can it offer? 

Endless possibilities and notable features:  

• Interdisciplinary research: One can carry out research without waiting for expertise or resources. Unscripted and open-ended conversations, which are the essence of basic research, could lead to new discoveries and help fill gaps in knowledge. 

• Organized and methodical approach: Data available globally can be collected and presented to the researcher in a way that makes it relevant, reliable and consequently, usable in research.  

• Deciphering research: Gemini is able to read through articles and decide which ones, based on the researcher’s prompts, may be relevant.  

• Handling large datasets: It can scan data create figures and graphs as well… within minutes to hours, making it particularly suited for unraveling scientific papers in areas such as genomics or even non-scientific fields that rely on large sets of data that include law or finance. 

• Multimodality: The ability to generate any kind of output using any sort of input is a major distinguishing feature of Gemini. It can generate code from variety of inputs and produce text or images.  

Gemini is truly the new “superkid” on the block! Interested in knowing more about AI in the world of a researcher?  

Here is some additional reading: 

Evolving journal guidelines on the use of AI 

Leveraging the power of AI for research 

Guidelines for generative AI use in Universities 

AI and peer review - collaborative intelligence 

Transformation of literature search by AI 

AI in manuscript evaluation - an interview