If we are purely talking about textbooks, I can see the value in a tool like this... assuming we still have yet to actually solve the problem of AI being able to tell the truth and could just lead to more issues if we can't even read a textbook without it and then learn the wrong thing.
Not to necessarily diss the work that was done on this, but the idea of actually wanting this for reading feels like it is a continuation of the lack of attention span that has seemed to get worse and worse. We already saw this with the oversimplification of television shows and movies. Many of them leaning more towards slapping you in the face with something instead of subtly.
I know way too many people that struggle to sit still for a half hour episode of some show now (like my partner, frustratingly) and have to be doing something else.
If you are struggling with absorbing the information you are reading that is likely a sign you should put down the book and come back to it later, obviously your mind wants to be doing something else. If it is a continued issue than practice reading something that you know you would like. Personally my "in" for my love of reading was reading video game books that expanded the lore and it grew from there, but I was already invested in the story so the book was easier to read.
Using this for a book feels more like a crutch than anything else. That is obviously before you get into whether or not the LLM is actually going to tell you the truth.
There is however one possible use case I could get into, but this is something that could be solved by just finding a video or something online. A refresher when it has been a long time between books coming out in a series.
Thank you very much for your thought-provoking comments.
I actually sympathize with you very much.
As you say, there is a non-zero chance that this app will contribute to a lack of concentration, but I cannot dismiss the possibility that the opposite will happen.
In my case, I have often found myself wanting the crutch of LLM due to lack of prerequisite knowledge when reading technical or philosophical books.
Also, I am an Asian whose English is not that good, and there are times when I have to read a book in its original language because there is no translation in my native language.
This application was created on an experimental basis to remove these panes, and the chat function with LLM is only one function. It should be used at the appropriate time depending on the user's use case.
I don't agree with the OP, AI assisted reading is the future, especially when you're trying to read a tome like War and Peace and don't know all the Napoleonic references or thst the Russian aristocracy spoke French and tried to emulate the French, or why that matters a lot to the plot and your perception of them.
Good job, OP. I wanted to build this myself.
Do you have plans for android and iOS support and syncing across devices?
Some of the books I read are really hard to understand to the point I think the author is deliberately rambling (looking at you Mark Fisher). LLM really help me understand it.