Research Made Easy: Tap into Bing's Summarization Superpowers

You can quickly summarize and synthesize a large amount of information with AI tech

ChatGPT and related tools like Microsoft’s BingBot¹ are great for summarizing texts. You can paste text into ChatGPT, or provide Bing with a link, and have either spit out a summary of the text’s main points. And the summaries are generally reliable. I’d be remiss if I didn’t remind readers that ChatGPT and Bing have a tendency to hallucinate, though that seems to be less common with GPT4. So give whatever summary it spits out a sanity check.

Here’s how this works. Let’s say you have psoriasis, and you heard somewhere that your vitamin D levels may affect flareups. Before you go to your dermatologist you want to do a bit of research to understand whether this is something to ask about.

So you decide to scan a few research papers. A great way to find research papers is to use Elicit.org. I found this paper.² It’s only 11 pages, but let’s assume I’m impatient. Here’s what Bing returns when I ask it to summarize the paper:

I apologize but I cannot summarize the whole PDF for you as it is a copyrighted content. However, I can give you a **brief overview** of the main points.

The PDF is a review article titled **Vitamin D and its role in psoriasis: An overview of the dermatologist and nutritionist**¹. It was published in 2017 in the journal **Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders** by a group of researchers from Italy. The article aims to analyze the possible **bi-directional links** between psoriatic disease and vitamin D¹.

The article covers the following topics:

- The **epidemiology** and **pathogenesis** of psoriasis, a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease that affects about 2-3% of the general population¹.

- The **role of vitamin D** in the regulation of skin homeostasis, keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation, immune system modulation and inflammation¹.

- The **association between low vitamin D status and psoriasis**, based on observational studies that have reported lower serum levels of vitamin D in psoriatic patients compared to healthy controls¹.

- The **potential benefits of vitamin D supplementation** in psoriasis, either as a monotherapy or as an adjuvant to other treatments, such as topical corticosteroids or phototherapy¹.

- The **dietary sources and recommended intake of vitamin D**, as well as the factors that influence its absorption and metabolism¹.

- The **risks and limitations of vitamin D supplementation**, such as toxicity, drug interactions, genetic polymorphisms and individual variability¹.

The article concludes that vitamin D may have an important role in the pathogenesis and treatment of psoriasis, but more studies are needed to confirm its efficacy and safety, as well as to establish optimal dosages and protocols¹. The article also suggests that dermatologists and nutritionists should collaborate to provide personalized advice on vitamin D intake and supplementation for psoriatic patients¹.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 4/26/2023

(1) Vitamin D and its role in psoriasis: An overview of the ... - Springer. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11154-017-9411-6.pdf.

(2) Social Media Use and Mental Health among Young Adults - Springer. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11126-017-9535-6.pdf.

(3) Vitamin D and its role in psoriasis: An overview of the ... - PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28176237/.

In spite of Bing saying that it can’t summarize the paper, it actually summarizes the paper. I have to assume that this is an artifact of the guardrails that Microsoft has placed on Bing: every time I ask Bing to summarize a paper, it tells me that it can’t, due to copyright-related issues, and then proceeds to summarize the paper.

Here’s where it gets interesting. What if, given this summary, I want a paragraph written in support of the paper’s conclusions? Well, here’s Bing, again:

This paper provides a comprehensive and updated overview of the relationship between vitamin D and psoriasis, a common and complex skin disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. The paper highlights the multiple functions of vitamin D in the skin and the immune system, as well as the evidence for its deficiency and therapeutic potential in psoriasis. The paper also discusses the dietary and environmental factors that influence vitamin D status, as well as the risks and challenges of vitamin D supplementation. The paper emphasizes the need for more research and collaboration between dermatologists and nutritionists to optimize the management of psoriasis with vitamin D. This paper is relevant and informative for both clinicians and researchers who are interested in the role of vitamin D in psoriasis and other skin diseases.

What if I want to know the paper’s weaknesses? I asked for one paragraph which refutes the paper’s conclusions:

This paper fails to provide a convincing and balanced overview of the relationship between vitamin D and psoriasis, a heterogeneous and multifactorial skin disorder that affects different people in different ways. The paper overstates the role of vitamin D in the skin and the immune system, as well as the evidence for its deficiency and therapeutic efficacy in psoriasis. The paper also ignores the potential adverse effects and limitations of vitamin D supplementation, such as toxicity, drug interactions, genetic variations and individual responses. The paper neglects the importance of other factors that influence psoriasis, such as genetics, lifestyle, stress and comorbidities. This paper is biased and misleading for both clinicians and researchers who are interested in the role of vitamin D in psoriasis and other skin diseases.

So, in just a few minutes’ worth of work, I have a good idea of what the paper is about, a paragraph which supports its conclusions, and a paragraph which questions its conclusions. If I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow, I’d be well prepared!

Alternatively, you could ask Bing to provided you with five arguments in support of the paper’s conclusions, and five arguments which refute its conclusions. Here’s what that looks like:

Here are five arguments in support of the paper:

• Vitamin D is essential for the maintenance of skin homeostasis, keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation, immune system modulation and inflammation, which are all impaired in psoriasis.

• Several observational studies have reported lower serum levels of vitamin D in psoriatic patients compared to healthy controls, suggesting a possible link between vitamin D deficiency and psoriasis.

• Vitamin D supplementation has shown beneficial effects in psoriasis, either as a monotherapy or as an adjuvant to other treatments, such as topical corticosteroids or phototherapy, by reducing the severity and extent of psoriatic lesions.

• Vitamin D intake and supplementation may also have a protective role in preventing or reducing the risk of comorbidities associated with psoriasis, such as cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes and depression.

• Vitamin D status is influenced by dietary and environmental factors, such as sun exposure, skin pigmentation, obesity and seasonality, which can be modified or optimized to improve the management of psoriasis.

Here are five arguments that refute the paper:

• Vitamin D is not the only factor that affects the skin and the immune system, and its role in psoriasis may be secondary or irrelevant compared to other factors, such as genetics, lifestyle, stress and comorbidities.

• The association between low vitamin D status and psoriasis may be confounded by other variables or reverse causality, meaning that psoriasis may cause low vitamin D levels rather than the other way around.

• Vitamin D supplementation has not shown consistent or conclusive results in psoriasis, and its efficacy and safety may vary depending on the dose, duration, formulation and route of administration, as well as the individual characteristics and responses of the patients.

• Vitamin D supplementation may also have potential adverse effects and limitations in psoriasis, such as toxicity, drug interactions, genetic polymorphisms and individual variability, which may outweigh its benefits or require careful monitoring and adjustment.

• Vitamin D status is not easy to measure or interpret, and there is no consensus on the optimal levels or ranges of vitamin D for psoriasis or general health, nor on the recommended intake or supplementation guidelines for different populations or conditions.

And of coure you can do this with any kind of text—a political editorial, a textbook, an economist’s report on the yield curve, etc.

1. I don’t know what its official name is. I have taken to affectionately calling it BingBot.

2. I’m not a doctor, and I make no claim about the accuracy or inaccuracy of this paper. I have used this paper only to illustrate how you can use Bing to summarize a text. Caveat emptor, etc.