There are still enough notable issues with NotebookLM's audio output to prevent it from fully replacing professional podcasters any time soon. Even so

Fake AI “podcasters” are reviewing my book and it’s freaking me out

submited by

Style Pass

2024-09-23 16:00:03

There are still enough notable issues with NotebookLM's audio output to prevent it from fully replacing professional podcasters any time soon. Even so, the podcast-like format is an incredibly engaging and endearing way to take in complex information and points to a much more personable future for generative AI than the dry back-and-forth of a text-based chatbot.

Google's NotebookLM launched over a year ago as "a virtual research assistant that can summarize facts, explain complex ideas, and brainstorm new connections—all based on the sources you select." Just last week, though, Google added the new "Audio Overview" feature that it's selling as "a new way to turn your documents into engaging audio discussions."

Google doesn't use the word "podcast" anywhere in that announcement, instead talking up audio creations that "summarize your material, make connections between topics, and banter back and forth." But Wharton AI professor Ethan Mollick correctly refered to the style as a "podcast" in a recent social media post sharing a NotebookLM Audio Overview of his book. Mollick called these Audio Summaries "the current best 'wow this is amazing & useful' demo of AI" and "unnerving, too", and we have to agree on both counts.

Inspired by Mollick's post, I decided to feed my own book into NotebookLM to see what its virtual "podcasters" would make of 30,000 or so words about '90s Windows gaming classic Minesweeper (believe it or not, I could have written much more). Just a few minutes later, I was experiencing a reasonable facsimile of what it would be like if I was featured on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour or a similar banter-filled podcast.