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Reflection and Final Thoughts on Perplexity
Reflection and Final Thoughts on Perplexity
After conducting research and performing experiments with Perplexity as an Education Venture Analyst, I have reached the conclusion that it is one of the most valuable AI educational tools available in the current market. What sets it apart from other AI resources and chatbot platforms is its remarkable accuracy in providing information and its commitment to referencing cited materials by offering live links to the original sources. Perplexity effectively addresses the need for online research and provides a comprehensive breakdown of where and how students can access additional information to explore major questions. Its utility extends beyond a single subject area, making it equally beneficial in disciplines such as in a History class or a Science Lab. Its appeal is not limited to students alone, as teachers can leverage this tool to enhance their lessons and delve deeper into topics of interest. In fact, Perplexity can serve as the foundation for entire assignments, challenging students to surpass the initial question and delve further into the subject matter. The platform itself features a user-friendly interface, and the suggested prompting questions accompanying each response facilitate effortless expansion of knowledge.Â
As an educator, I find comfort in recommending Perplexity to my students, knowing that the sources are properly cited, a distinction that cannot be made for platforms like ChatGPT or other chatbots. I have personally incorporated this resource into an assignment I designed, where students are tasked with researching a publicly traded company on the S&P500 and going beyond the confines of Wikipedia to demonstrate a deeper understanding of why the company is successful.
As mentioned on the "About" page, I currently do not perceive the need to invest in the for-purchase version of Perplexity since it offers a significant portion of its primary services for free. Nevertheless, the inclusion of the Copilot feature would be valuable for active users who choose to acquire the paid version. The fact that Perplexity provides its main interface for free is an enticing prospect for any teacher seeking to introduce this platform to their students. In my pitch for this venture, I would highlight the forthcoming developments, as all new capabilities will be added to the paid membership at no additional cost.
Upon learning about the founder, Aravind Srinivas, and his three co-founders Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski, I am highly confident that this product will continue to evolve and refine its learning model. Each of the founders possesses extensive experience in engineering back-end systems, AI, and machine learning. Yarats, for instance, served as a staff machine learning engineer at Quora and later joined Meta as an AI research scientist, while Srinivas interned at DeepMind and Google before becoming an AI researcher at OpenAI. Ho's background encompasses engineering at Quora and quantitative trading on Wall Street, and Konwinski was part of the founding team at Databricks (Wiggers, 2023). This rich work history showcases a combination of technical expertise and business acumen.
Although Perplexity, like many AI tools, is still in its early stages, it holds the advantage of being early to market and benefits from its partnership with ChatGPT, granting it significantly greater exposure compared to other emerging AI tools. Kevin Systrom's statement that "great products sell themselves" resonates well with Perplexity. In my view, this tool represents a cutting-edge application of AI with practical uses, a roadmap for future paid memberships, and a formidable team backing its development.
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