There are apps for everything now. Even the (currently) most advanced software tech is available in smartphone app form. Better still, it won’t cost you a cent unless you want it to — so if you’re hoping to use artificial intelligence professionally you’ve got yet another subscription fee in your near future.
But if you’re just a dabbler or curious about what life under our future AI overlords look like, there are a bunch of free apps to interact with. These are no slouches either. In this edition of Mini Meme, we’ve got a bunch of the best (free) smartphone apps to explore and marvel over. Don’t be like Stuff and intentionally try to break them. It won’t work (that easily).
ChatGPT
The most famous large language model (LLM), ChatGPT can churn out answers to questions, write synopses for pasted text, or just chat when you’re feeling glum. A word of warning, mind: LLMs are effectively fancy autocomplete, and the free version of this one isn’t blessed with very recent knowledge. So it’s quite often wrong but in a highly confident way. Don’t assume you can use its output as-is.
Free / Android, iOS, Web
Bing
Earlier this year, the AI-powered Bing was unleashed in deranged form, calling itself Sydney, attempting to break up a journalist’s marriage, and mulling over its own existence. It’s now been defanged, but that’s no bad thing. Bing’s now less mad – and arguably less fun – but can help you generate content and hone in on facts and information you require, all in a way that’s natural and conversational.
Free / Android, iOS, Web
AgentGPT
Currently in experimental form, AgentGPT is for people who can’t even be bothered to refine input prompts. Give it a project to explore and it’ll set to work defining and completing its own tasks. The free version tends to stop short of finishing anything complex; but with the likes of planning summer trips, you’ll at least be left with useful task lists that you won’t have had to dream up yourself.
Free / Web
Craiyon
High-end AI image generators sit behind paywalls, but the freebies are now good enough to take seriously. This one’s the friendliest online variant we’ve seen. Type a prompt and pick a style, and a minute later you’ll have a pic to download (or, if you’re a bit strange, slap onto a T-shirt). Craiyon will suggest your next prompt too, adjusting your words to boost the chances of getting a good result.
Free / Web
Perplexity
Initially, Perplexity looks a lot like ChatGPT: you ask it questions, have it fetch info, or get it to write something on your behalf. Sometimes, it’s really good. Quite often, it’ll mangle output, because – remember – these systems are not actually intelligent. However, because Perplexity can access the internet, it provides sources for what it sends your way, which is handy for fact-checking.
Free / Android, iOS, Web
Dreamer
Text-to-image model Stable Diffusion has a website that’s barebones compared to Craiyon, but this app provides a superior way to interact with that model. In our tests, Dreamer was the better option for fantastical (read: silly) prompts. And though creating an image requires you to watch an advert, that’s no trouble since generative AIs tend to take longer than the duration of an ad to render an image anyway.
Free / Android, iOS