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Tiago's Reaction Video on Notebook LM

Jul 6, 2024

Tiago's Reaction Video on Notebook LM

Introduction

  • Reaction video focuses on Notebook LM and its capabilities.
  • Notebook LM is currently available only in the US.
  • Tiago Forte, the brain behind 'Building a Second Brain', explores and reacts to Notebook LM.

Tiago's Overview of Notebook LM

  • Tiago compares Notebook LM with Evernote, emphasizing its innovative features backed by Google.
  • Steven Johnson, an influential author, is part of the team developing Notebook LM.
  • Notebook LM utilizes Google's Gemini AI model.
  • Google products have extensive access to valuable data and powerful AI models.

Getting Started with Notebook LM

  • Visit notebooklm.google.com to create an account or sign in with a Gmail account.
  • Currently limited to users in the US who are 18 years or older.
  • Main interface: organized into notebooks, add sources (Google Docs, PDFs, copy-pasting text).
  • Supports up to 20 documents, each with up to 200,000 words, collectively holding up to 4 million words.
  • Mimics a chat-based AI interface like ChatGPT.
  • Users can pin important responses for easy reference.
  • Searchable sources include Google Drive documents, PDFs, and manually added texts.

Features and Functionality

  • Main Interface: Contains columns for sources, pin icons for saving important details, and a chat interface for interaction.
  • Adding Sources: Easy import from Google Drive. PDF content is searchable.
  • Conversational Interface: Responds to user queries and can generate summaries, outlines, and detailed responses based on the provided sources.
  • Utilizes Gemini AI to handle vast amounts of text.

Tiago's Use Cases and Examples

  1. General Understanding: Academia and Complex Texts

    • Example: Reading and summarizing an academic paper.

  2. Meeting Notes:

    • Tiago imported a Google Doc transcription and extracted main points and key takeaways.
    • Notebook LM generated a proposal based on detailed notes.

  3. Writing and Ideation:

    • Tiago imported notes on a book into Notebook LM for writing an article.
    • Interaction with AI to improve drafts and generate new ideas.

  4. Synthesizing Information:

    • Combining multiple sources to find relationships or generate new insights.

Integration with Other Tools

  • Readwise Integration:
    • Import highlights from Readwise into Google Drive which can then be accessed by Notebook LM.
    • Different settings for exporting specific highlights or entire books/articles.

Limitations and Pitfalls

  • Limited to 20 sources per notebook.
  • Cannot directly connect to apps like Evernote, Notion, or Google Keep.
  • Bugs due to the experimental nature of the platform.
  • Issues with reading messy PDFs, math, and precision in large texts.
  • Short-term memory does not retain information session to session.

Tiago’s Key Insights and Opinions

  • Notebook LM could become a standard for integrated note-taking, writing, and researching.
  • The current need for specific sources to be added, unlike more seamless models.
  • Readwise offers a helpful intermediary for importing data into Notebook LM.
  • Importance of learning how to interact effectively with AI.
  • Potential for better business usage in the future, possibly for team environments and continuous knowledge integration.

Conclusion

  • Tiago concludes that while Google is late to the game, Notebook LM has significant potential.
  • Other tools already offer similar functionalities, but Google's backing provides a unique opportunity for widespread use.

Overall: Notebook LM introduces a cohesive approach to note-taking and knowledge management using conversational AI, but there are clear areas where the tool can improve and expand its capabilities.

Full transcript