Google uses AI to create fraudulent podcasts from your notes

It aims to build on existing NotebookLM features that facilitate you interact with all your notes, transcripts, and other research documents. The app already uses Google’s Gemini AI model to facilitate summarize research, and this is sort of an audio version of that.

Google isn’t making this up when it says the AI ​​hosts will “joke” with each other. When I tried the Audio Overview myself, I plugged in one of the sample notebooks about the invention of the lithe bulb, and the results were…kind of amazing. During the 10-minute overview, the two hosts had a lighthearted discussion about how Thomas Edison wasn’t the only person behind the lithe bulb and that “in the end, this is really a story about teamwork, about a dream coming true.”

The hosts could almost could be mistaken for a human podcaster, from the way they emphasized “bam!” by dropping it into the middle of a sentence to the apply of contemporary wording like “messy as hell.” There were still a few oddities, as I noticed the AI ​​spelling out certain words and phrases like “PLUS.” Some of the text also wasn’t exactly what a human would say, with one AI host calling platinum “bling bling metal.”

This feature makes learning about research more engaging, but I wonder if the hosts would keep their lithe, slightly witty tone when discussing more grave topics like cancer or war. There’s also a lot of filler throughout the conversation, so it might not be the best way to quickly and clearly summarize all the information.

Google mentions this in its announcement, stating that the feature “does not provide a comprehensive or objective view of a topic, but merely a reflection” of your notes.

There are also some limitations to Audio Overview, as Google says it can take a few minutes to generate a podcast-style discussion, and it’s only available in English. Like many AI tools, it’s not always right.

You can try this feature yourself by opening a notebook in NotebookLM. Then select the Notebook guide in the lower right corner of the screen and then press Load under the heading “Audio Review.” I know I’ll have to do some research on some random topic so I can hear what the AI ​​podcasters have to say.