Synthetic Synthesis

Those Voices on the Podcast? Listen Closely.

By Declan Bradley October 4, 2024

The Chronicle of Higher Education

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“Alright psych adventurers, buckle up,” says a male voice, “we’re diving deep into Dr. Gurung’s Intro to Psych syllabus.” “Yeah,” a female voice replies, “we’re going to equip you with the knowledge to not just survive, but crush this class.”

Neither is human.

The voices appear in the opening minutes of a “podcast” generated by Google’s NotebookLM, an experimental AI tool that promises to help students succeed by turning their notes, readings, and class materials into easily digestible snippets.

The tool is free to use and has been available for more than a year, but new features