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NotebookLM launches feature to customize and guide audio overviews

(blog.google)
242 points alphabetting | 2 comments | 17 Oct 24 16:42 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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wenbin ◴[17 Oct 24 19:09 UTC] No.41872782[source]▶
NotebookLM is contributing to fake podcasts across the internet, with over 1,300 and counting:

https://github.com/ListenNotes/ai-generated-fake-podcasts/bl...

Google is taking a different approach this time, moving quickly. While NotebookLM is indeed a remarkable tool for personal productivity and learning, it also opens the door for spammers to mass-produce content that isn't meant for human consumption.

Amidst all the praise for this project, I’d like to offer a different perspective. I hope the NotebookLM team sees this and recognizes the seriousness of the spam issue, which will only grow if left unaddressed. If you know someone on the team, please bring this to their attention - Could you please provide a tool or some plain-English guidelines to help detect audio generated by NotebookLM? Is there a watermark or any other identifiable marker that can be used?

Just recently, a Hacker News post highlighted how nearly all Google image results for "baby peacock" are AI-generated: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41767648

It won't be long before we see a similar trend with low-quality, AI-generated fake podcasts flooding the internet.

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ghshephard ◴[17 Oct 24 19:55 UTC] No.41873152[source]▶
Where do you get the "low-quality" part from - my experience with NotebookLM is that they create much higher quality, more informative, more fact based, and more concise podcasts than 99% of the stuff I listen to. I've mostly switched entirely over to NotebookLM for my podcast listening. They, generally, offer a far higher quality experience from my perspective.

Maybe you have the problem backwards - we accidentally end up listening to non NotebookLM podcasts?

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1. 3abiton ◴[17 Oct 24 20:02 UTC] No.41873207[source]▶
It's interesting assumption that by virtue of being AI generated, it's considered bad/fake. 20 years ago, people hated how photoshop changed the photo design industry, NotebookLM is knocking on the door now.
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2. ben_w ◴[17 Oct 24 21:20 UTC] No.41873923[source]▶
I'm excited by AI, but I've also tried using this specific one to generate a podcast based on one of my own blog posts and will only try again due to this product announcement rather than because I think the state of the art is already "there".

On the plus side, the speech is almost perfect; so good, that I sincerely hope the voices themselves are never fully under user control.

With regards to the actual summary of the content I gave them, I would say they are grade B: only mostly correct, they're still inventing things I didn't say and missing things I did say.

That's not to say humans don't make mistakes, I still consider this objectively impressive, that is able to reach even this level was SciFi when I was a kid — but why waste time on a grade-B podcast when the AAA-tier costs you as a consumer a 30 second advert?