America turns 248 years old today. Happy Birthday! We were curious about how long civilizations typically last, so we turned to ChatGPT for insights from academic sources.

Civilizations, on average, have lifespans ranging from 336 to 340 years. Turns out, many civilizations faced the same challenges that led to their decline, such as climate change, economic issues, and socio-political instability. Hmmm … something to think about.

This week's issue features a new AI summarizer, a video editor with advanced lip-syncing to fix flubs, a must-see prompt engineering course, and AI-inspired summer cocktails.

Let’s dive in!

AI Summarizer

Keeping up with all the content we want to read (or have to) can be challenging. That's where Briefy comes in – a clever AI tool that offers a smart solution to information overload for busy readers and researchers.

Briefy's superpower? It can quickly summarize websites, documents, YouTube videos, podcasts, and more. But it doesn't stop there. This smart assistant also helps you organize all that information, so you can easily find and use it later.

What makes Briefy stand out from the many other summarizers:

• Flexible formats: Get your summaries as text, tables, or even mind maps (which we thought were very cool).

• Source linking: Easily jump between summaries and original content.

• Email summaries: Tame your Gmail inbox with email and thread condensing.

With Briefy, you can not only refer back to the source content to explore more detailed information, you can go a step further by asking specific questions to ensure you have a fuller understanding of the content. Everything you summarize is stored and clearly organized so you can access all your documents at any time.

Briefy is recommended for students and academics, professionals, content creators, and anyone who wants to read efficiently. It's like having a personal research assistant at your fingertips – one that never gets tired of reading!

A free trial offers 30 summaries/month, with paid plans starting at $4/month for power users.

AI Video Magic

Ever tried recording a short video for work, school, or a friend's birthday toast? If you're anything like us, nailing the "perfect take" can feel like an endless loop of mistakes, erases, and re-records.

Well, soon, all those mangled words and mispronunciations will be a thing of the past. Descript is a new kind of video editor with AI-powered features. With Descript’s Underlord editing assistant, you’ll be able to fix flubs using its AI Regenerate feature. This tool matches your voice and mouth movements to the surrounding media, making your edits seamless.

Confused? We highly recommend watching this video to see how it works. We were floored!

Video Regenerate hasn’t been released yet, but you can join the waiting list. The company is working with early testers to ensure the quality and safety of their tools.

Descript promises more than just error correction. In the future, you’ll be able to regenerate your entire video in different languages. Get ready to say "adiós" to that re-record button and "bonjour" to a world of seamless communication.

AI Better Prompting

We’re always looking for ways to improve our AI skills, especially when it comes to getting the best out of AI chatbots, often referred to as “prompt engineering”. If you’d like to learn how to craft compelling prompts and ask the right questions for better, more accurate responses, we’ve found a course for you. Best of all, it doesn’t cost a thing, except your time.

IBM’s SkillsNetwork launched CognitiveClass.ai, a series of courses and projects to help people around the globe advance their careers and learn new skills.

“Prompt Engineering for Everyone” is their newest offering— a self-paced course that requires no prerequisites and no technical skills. You can take it anytime as often as you like. While there is only one chance to pass the course, you get multiple attempts per question.

The goal? To move you from a ‘naive approach’ to prompting to a more systematic one that can extract the maximum value from what AI offers.

Course Highlights:

• Avoiding Common Pitfalls: Learn to sidestep frequent errors in prompt crafting.

• Persona Patterns: Discover how to use persona patterns to refine your results.

• Advanced Strategies: Learn techniques like the Chain of Thought, Train of Thought, and the Nova System.

• Watsonx Prompt Lab: Get an introduction to IBM’s specialized prompt lab.

The course has five modules, four quizzes, and an optional final project. You need a minimum score of 70% to pass, and successful participants earn a certificate.

Sounds interesting? We thought so, too, and we’ve already signed up—because who doesn’t love a good challenge?

In a world where AI fluency is becoming as crucial as computer literacy, this course offers a golden opportunity to stay ahead of the curve – and perhaps finally outsmart your smart fridge.

AI Summer Sips

We love summer … and when the weather sizzles, it’s the perfect time for a cool, refreshing summer cocktail.

If you’re a fan of making cocktails at home, there’s an easy way to whip up a delicious concoction, courtesy of BarGPT. Shaken or stirred, frozen or nonalcoholic, this AI recipe generator combines technology with mixology to create your own signature drinks.

How it works: Simply download the BarGPT app or sign up online. Your first AI-generated cocktail is free. Enter a command such as “a cocktail recipe to celebrate the start of summer” or “a fruity blend with tequila” and within seconds you’ll get the recipe along with an AI-generated image of your creation. 

Not sure exactly what you’re in the mood for? You can always scroll through BarGPT’s library of cocktails for inspiration. We were drawn to the Stars and Stripe Martini (in honor of the Fourth!) and the Elysian Elixir, made with Tangueray gin and limoncello.

We also like the Tropical Ginger Sparkler, a zesty non-alcoholic cocktail with tropical flavors that include apples, orange and pineapple juice with ginger root and fresh mint.

So, go on, give it a try -- and let AI bartend your summer soirées. Who knew robots could make such a mean mojito?

AI in the News (in case you missed it)

• AI helps predict dementia using speech patterns. Read here.

• OpenAI, Microsoft sued by Center for Investigative Reporting. Read here.

• NBC to use AI-generated version of Al Michaels' voice during Summer Olympics. Watch here.

• Scottish artist paints over work in AI protest. Read here.

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Here.Now.AI Editorial team: Lori, Justin, and Lisa