Question: Looking for a tool that can help me quickly grasp the main arguments and perspectives from lengthy academic research papers.

If you want to get a handle on the main points and perspectives in a research paper, Scholarcy is a good choice. This AI-based summarization tool is geared specifically for academic papers and comes with features like interactive summary flashcards, summarization, analysis and note-taking. There are also more advanced features like highlighting key findings and creating literature matrices. Scholarcy offers a free plan and a paid version, so you can use it depending on your needs and budget.

Another good option is Elicit, which serves as an AI research assistant to help you quickly locate, summarize and extract data from more than 125 million research papers. It can help with tasks like systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and you can use it to stay up to date with the latest research. Elicit offers a range of pricing options, including a free basic plan and a subscription-based Plus plan, so you can use it depending on your needs.

Semantic Scholar is another useful tool for academic research. The free AI-powered service lets you search for and read relevant scientific papers with AI-generated brief summaries (TLDRs) to help you quickly evaluate papers. It also offers tools for organizing papers, creating research feeds and setting up automated email alerts. The service is geared for researchers who need quick and easy access to a large database.

For those who want more explanation, Explainpaper uses an AI-based system to provide explanations of complex research topics. You can upload papers, highlight sections, and get explanations from ChatGPT, and you can follow up with further questions. The system has different pricing options, so you can use it depending on your needs, and it's designed to let you focus on understanding research papers without getting bogged down in details.