The right tool for the right job

Choosing the Right Tool

A tool in itself is neither inherently "good" nor "bad," and there’s no such thing as one tool being universally better than another. It all depends on the task at hand. Think of it like this: a flathead screwdriver isn’t better than a Phillips screwdriver, and a hacksaw isn’t a "bad" tool for cutting wood—it’s just not suited for that particular job.

The same principle applies to generative AI tools. Your ability to choose the right tool will depend on your knowledge of the field, and because AI services are evolving at an incredible pace, it’s important to assess whether the tool you plan to use can deliver the desired result.

The Price to Pay

Generative AI tools that don’t require at least an account linked to your personal information are extremely rare. If you’re planning to explore several different AI tools, you should expect to share some of your data with a number of companies. Most platforms will require you to create a password—make sure it’s unique for each service and not something you use elsewhere.

The actual cost in monetary terms varies across services. Most generative AI tools operate on a “freemium” model, offering basic features for free and charging for premium features through a subscription. Other tools, especially those focused on generating images or videos, often use a credit system, where each generation consumes credits that can be purchased directly on the platform.

There are fully free AI tools available, though these are usually independent or experimental projects and may not be as powerful or refined as paid alternatives (although there are some exceptions).

A Question of Transformation

Generative AI tools are fundamentally transformers. They take input from a user and transform it into something new. Without user input, these tools can’t do anything. The type of transformation depends on both the tool's capabilities and the user’s request. For a tool to produce the desired result, it must be able to carry out the specific transformation requested.

For example, QuillBot is a text transformer—it can rewrite text in different styles, translate it, detect plagiarism, or even generate citations in APA format. However, this doesn’t mean it can do all these tasks in every language. As of this writing, QuillBot cannot paraphrase text in Bengali, despite Bengali being one of the most widely spoken languages globally.

Hands-On Practice

Using a combination of tools of your choice, complete the following activities:

1. Generate an image representing the increasing presence of artificial intelligence in higher education.

2. Reformulate the first paragraph of the section “A Question of Transformation.”

3. Generate the APA reference for this scientific article.

Once you've completed the activities, you’re ready to move on to the next section!