The search evolution: find my papers steps in

In an era of AI-driven research tools that often promise more than they deliver, a new contender has emerged that may actually fulfill the elusive promise of effective semantic paper discovery. Jay Alammar's latest project, "Find My Papers," tackles the shortcomings of current AI deep research functions with a refreshingly straightforward approach focused on quality results rather than flashy agent frameworks.

What sets this tool apart from the rest?

• Purpose-built semantic search: The system currently indexes over 300,000 AI and machine learning papers from arXiv, enabling researchers to find conceptually similar papers even when terminology differs.

• No hallucination framework: Unlike agentic systems like OpenAI's Deep Research or Perplexity, Find My Papers uses a custom retrieval pipeline without relying on multi-chain processes or neural-enabled networks, prioritizing accuracy over generative capabilities.

• Rapid results: While deep research tools from major providers can take 3-10 minutes to compile their reports, this solution delivers comprehensive results in under two minutes.

• Quality over synthetic summaries: Instead of generating potentially inaccurate 10,000-word reports, the system provides direct access to relevant papers with the ability to ask follow-up questions about specific findings.

The deeper insight: specialized retrieval beats generalized agents

The most compelling takeaway from this project isn't just that it outperforms current offerings, but why it does. By rejecting the industry trend toward generalized agentic systems that try to be everything to everyone, Find My Papers demonstrates the power of purpose-built systems with narrower scopes and deeper capabilities.

This approach matters because it represents a fundamental rethinking of how research tools should function. The current AI research landscape is dominated by "Swiss Army knife" models that promise to handle every task from writing emails to conducting doctoral research. But specialized tools with deliberate constraints often deliver superior results in their focused domains.

Consider how Bloomberg Terminal conquered financial data by doing one thing extremely well, rather than trying to be a general-purpose tool. Find My Papers appears to be following a similar philosophy for academic research.

Beyond the video: the growing specialized tools movement

What the video doesn't explore is how this tool fits into a broader emerging trend of specialized AI