Interacting with AI can now start with paper, pencil... or a mind map

Artificial intelligence is constantly pushing the boundaries of human-machine interaction. "Multimodality" now allows information to be extracted from handwritten notes. This advancement opens up new perspectives for creating mind maps. Let's explore this here.

Pixtral: The AI that deciphers your sketches

The French unicorn Mistral, specializing in AI, recently launched Pixtral, an open-source model capable of analyzing images provided by users. This feature, freely accessible via the Le Chat , offers fascinating possibilities. I decided to test this AI's ability to "read" and interpret a mind map quickly sketched on paper.

Step by step: From paper map to AI analysis

1. Creating a manual bubble map

During a recent visual thinking training for managers, I used a basic mind map (or bubble map) to gather participants' expectations. This simple and effective method allowed for quickly capturing group discussions.

2. Interacting with Pixtral


(Don't forget to select the Pixtral AI Model when prompting and uploading you image)

I then submitted a photo of this mindmap to Pixtral, asking: "Could you read this mind map and list, respecting the hierarchy of information, the elements of this map that represent participants' expectations at the beginning of a training?"

Pixtral's response, presented below, demonstrates its ability to extract the main topics from the map:



3. Transformation into a digital mind map

To go further, I asked Pixtral to generate the OPML code of the obtained list. I then:

- Copied this code into a simple text editor - Saved the file with the .opml extension - Imported this file into XMind to create a new digital mind map This experience reveals that, although promising, Pixtral's ability to perfectly recognize the hierarchy between topics still needs some improvement.

Conclusions and perspectives

This experience illustrates a true revolution: the possibility of "prompting" on paper becomes a reality. Visual AI tools like Pixtral are now capable of "reading" various forms of handwritten notes (texts, lists, diagrams, mind maps), paving the way for new interactions to develop information.

It's surprising that major mind mapping software publishers haven't yet integrated this innovation. However, it's highly likely that this functionality will soon be available in their tools.

Note that other AIs, such as ChatGPT or Claude, also offer similar "mind map reading" capabilities, thus expanding the possibilities of interaction between the analog and digital worlds.

This advancement promises to transform the way we capture, organize, and process information, combining the flexibility of paper with the power of AI.

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