I've been using NotebookLM quite a bit lately to analyze and synthesize documents. It's essentially an AI research assistant that allows you to compile a portfolio of large documents and ask it to perform tasks such as extracting relevant quotes on a particular topic or generating summaries that link back to the original sources.
One particularly impressive feature is its audio “deep dive” function. You can upload a document—such as a scientific article—and it will generate a podcast-style conversation discussing the text’s key arguments in a radio show format with two hosts. The output is surprisingly good, especially considering that it's entirely AI-generated. While it sounds more like an unscripted talk radio segment than a polished broadcast, it remains accessible and clear.
I tested it with a book chapter I wrote for The Oxford Handbook of Portuguese Politics, which examines labor market organization in Portugal. I asked the AI to focus on one key aspect: the high employment rate of women in Portugal compared to other Southern European countries. Although there are occasional awkward moments in the AI-generated discussion, it still conveys the chapter’s main arguments quite well. I might use it again to share some audio excerpts here from time to time.
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