This is a brief overview of a new tool. Its purpose is to inform, not to be a recommendation or endorsement of the tool.
Google's NotebookLM is a highly useful AI tool for conducting research. It enables users to add documents and text in various formats and then summarize or ask questions about the gathered information.
Its primary application seems to be for research purposes, but it is not limited to just students. For example, lawyers could upload relevant cases to understand current laws on a topic, and school counselors could upload the latest articles on adolescent behavior to learn about new methods. I even used it to import review articles about the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro to gain a clear understanding of what the phone offers.
The main benefit is the ability to save time reading while still obtaining a comprehensive answer to a complex question. While Siri may not provide a complete answer to a query, NotebookLM can.
Google emphasizes that "Your personal data is never used to train NotebookLM. Human reviewers may review your queries, uploads, and the model's responses for troubleshooting, addressing abuse, or making improvements based on your feedback. Please refrain from submitting any information you would not want a human reviewer to see."
Additionally, they include the disclaimer: "NotebookLM may still sometimes give inaccurate responses, so you may want to confirm any facts independently."
In the end, it's best to treat it like Wikipedia - useful for a quick summary but not as a reliable reference.
What do you think? Can you think of some other uses for NotebookLM? How might you use it? Let us know in the comments.