In the latest episode of their series, two podcast hosts have a conversation that quickly takes an unexpected turn. Jokingly and uneasily, one of them reveals: "We've been informed that we're not human". This curious, almost existential conversation between two AI-generated voices has captured attention on Reddit, although the original author clarifies that it was all created by prompts he gave to Google's NotebookLM tool, sparking a debate about the future of podcasts.

 

NotebookLM and AI Podcasts

NotebookLM, developed by Google Labs, is an experimental tool that allows users to generate podcasts by summarising documents and other data using artificial intelligence. Launched in September, the Audio Overviews feature has piqued the interest of users, who have begun creating their own "podcasts" from a variety of sources, from financial reports to complex research. The appeal of the tool is that it allows large volumes of text to be converted into an audio file that summarises information, making consuming data more accessible.

Raiza Martin, leader of the NotebookLM team, points out that the tool allows people to listen to content that would otherwise not be available on YouTube or traditional podcasts. By simply uploading a slideshow or Google documents, users can generate an audio summary of those materials, which has inspired creativity in the community.

 

User Experience and Future Challenges

The response to this feature has been mixed, ranging from those who use it for serious document summaries to those who test its limits with more irreverent instructions. However, questions arise about privacy and the handling of personal data. According to Google, the information users upload is not used to train AI, and files remain private unless explicitly shared with collaborators.

As this technology progresses, Google's developers plan to continue to improve the personalisation of the podcasts generated, adjusting the length and focus of the topics. While AI podcasts can be useful for summarising information, they are unlikely to replace the human connection that real podcasters create with their audience.

For now, these AI podcasts open up new possibilities for information consumption, but they remain an evolving experiment.