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NotebookLM's automatically generated podcasts are surprisingly effective

simonwillison.net

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Re: NotebookLM's automatically generated podcasts are surprisingly effective

#321

Post by pjc50 »

sodality2 wrote: post #285
handelaar wrote: post #277

So basically what you're all saying is how it's technically impressive. Okay. It is also completely and utterly worthless -- an inefficient and slow method of receiving not-very-many words which were written by nobody at all. The one and only point listening to a discussion about anything is that at least one of the speakers is someone who has an opinion that you may find interesting or refutable. There are no opinio…

This is some insane catastrophizing. The value is that it turns it into a form factor that may be easier to consume, pay attention to, etc.

Turns what into an easy form factor?

Some of this appears to be auto-summarization + read aloud, but the underlying question of "is there anything here at all" is worth asking.

Re: NotebookLM's automatically generated podcasts are surprisingly effective

#322

Post by sodality2 »

pjc50 wrote: post #321
sodality2 wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is some insane catastrophizing. The value is that it turns it into a form factor that may be easier to consume, pay attention to, etc.

Turns what into an easy form factor? Some of this appears to be auto-summarization + read aloud, but the underlying question of "is there anything here at all" is worth asking.

Any content you upload. PDFs, text, etc. Academic papers was one example I thought of (and have used).

Re: NotebookLM's automatically generated podcasts are surprisingly effective

#323

Post by usaar333 »

bbor wrote: post #316
usaar333 wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried that with a paper. It emphasized the wrong points and 8 out of 10 minutes were just filler. I like the idea of audio based formatting, but this particular implementation is quite inefficient

Interesting! I tried it with a (famous, tbf) philosophers book and it did pretty well. Absolutely not optimized for speed, but that’s on purpose. Could you share what field/type of paper you tried? I’m not doubting you at all — I’m sure it still has many topics it fails to capture, mathematics probably being one of them.

https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjlr/vol25/iss3/3/

Most of this is unlikely to be in training data.

Doesn't even mention the basics, like ethnic demographics of Fiji today. Confuses history as well (what happened in colonial times vs post independence)

Re: NotebookLM's automatically generated podcasts are surprisingly effective

#324

Post by freedomben »

JonathanFly wrote: post #72
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #26

OK, this is pretty amazing, but is there a "Valley Girl" setting in NotebookLM somewhere? In the sample given in this article, both of the "podcasters" had to add a "like", like every 5 seconds. I couldn't take it: > this tech is just like leaps and bounds of where it was yesterday like we're watching it go from just spitting out words to like...

"Like" is a filler word I barely notice, along with lower key words like "right" or "uh uh". But the NotebookLM constantly exclaiming "Exactly" and "Precisely" stand out and are driving me a bit loopy. I wonder if you can prompt inject them away.

I would seriously pay, even a subscription fee, to have that ability downloaded into my brain. The first few mentions of "like" don't typically get me, but the more it's used the irritation level grows exponentially...

Re: NotebookLM's automatically generated podcasts are surprisingly effective

#325

Post by supafastcoder »

electrondood wrote: post #306
handelaar wrote: post #277

So basically what you're all saying is how it's technically impressive. Okay. It is also completely and utterly worthless -- an inefficient and slow method of receiving not-very-many words which were written by nobody at all. The one and only point listening to a discussion about anything is that at least one of the speakers is someone who has an opinion that you may find interesting or refutable. There are no opinio…

I'm not sure what the name of this fallacy is, but I fall prey to it all the time: the fallacy that everyone else values what you value. I can't stand fiction. When I read a self-help book, but it's laced with stories, I lose interest. Just state the point. However, a lot of people find stories engaging and more effective, because they provide an example that they can use to relate to, like a myth. I don't think this…

> When I read a self-help book, but it's laced with stories, I lose interest. Just state the point.

The reason why these books are filled with stories that repeat the same point over and over again is because then the idea will typically stick in your head. But some people have better imagination then others and come up with stories themselves when they read about a novel idea.

Re: NotebookLM's automatically generated podcasts are surprisingly effective

#326

Post by [deleted] »

kristopolous wrote: post #161

I just gave it straight up erotica from an old Usenet post. The results are hilarious. I also tried the Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy. It was actually well done. https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/1d13e76e-eb4b-48ef-89... Also just uploading msdos 1.25 asm https://github.com/microsoft/MS-DOS/tree/main/v1.25/source It was way better than I though I think the best is the self referential. This actual comment thread…

[deleted]

Re: NotebookLM's automatically generated podcasts are surprisingly effective

#327

Post by freedomben »

m3kw9 wrote: post #312

Google making an innovative and successful thing is surprising and refreshing, looks like they threw 1000 things and now one has stuck.

I had a similar thought, although they had to make it talk and sound just like the stereotype of people there in the valley. Like, of course like, it has to sound, like, authentic, ya know?

On a side note, really great to see something innovative and useful! Google nails this on occasion and I think misses credit because the other appendanges are simultaneously laying eggs or deleting working/valued products from the portfolio. It's gotta be pretty hard to operate at that scale, but damn.

Re: NotebookLM's automatically generated podcasts are surprisingly effective

#328

Post by the8thbit »

mronetwo wrote: post #292
rafram wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The one and only point listening to a discussion about anything is that at least one of the speakers is someone who has an opinion that you may find interesting or refutable. No. Maybe that's true for you , but people enjoy learning in different ways, and some people learn best by listening to a discussion.

Unlikely. It's just that our brains are so fried by our smartphones/social media/24h of news/media consumption that we've lost the plot.

I don't doubt you're right about social media and smartphones rotting our attention spans. But also, peripatetic philosophy is ancient. I spend most of my day sitting. Whether its work, entertainment, or hobbies, most of these things have me sat in front of a screen. So its nice, and I do think it increases my retention, to be able to do something while walking or cycling instead of sitting.

Re: NotebookLM's automatically generated podcasts are surprisingly effective

#329

Post by whamlastxmas »

surfingdino wrote: post #110
ColinEberhardt wrote: post #3

I don’t think this is all that impressive, the generated podcast is pretty shallow - lots of ‘whoa meta’ and the word ‘like’ thrown into every sentence. Yes, it will generate a middle-of-the-road waffling podcast, but not one with any real depth.

It doesn't matter. It will become a carrier for ads and that's all that matters to those who use NotebookML to generate those podcasts.

Would be easy to take ad filled podcast transcript and re generate it without the ads
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