Google has recently announced its first experimental AI notebook that allows users to gain critical insights from their existing content. The platform uses the power of language models for the task.
The platform was first announced at Google I/O this year. It was first launched with the name Tailwind and now the tech giant has decided to rename it to NotebookLM.
The Google blog states “At Google I/O this year we introduced a number of AI-first experiments in development, including Project Tailwind — a new kind of notebook designed to help people learn faster.
“Today we’re beginning to roll out Project Tailwind with its new name: NotebookLM, an experimental offering from Google Labs,” it added.
NotebookLM is a virtual research assistant that can summarise facts, explain ideas, and brainstorm new connections based on the sources that users provide to the AI platform.
Source: Google
What are the features of NotebookLM?
Google claims that its new platform reduces the risk of biased or wrong information, which is the main risk of other AI chatbots. This is because the platform is designed to reduce "hallucinations," which is a term used to describe the generation of false or misleading information by AI chatbots.
NotebookLM lets users "ground" the language model in their notes and sources. This means that NotebookLM is able to learn from the information that users provide, and it can use this knowledge to generate more accurate and relevant responses.
In its blog, Google mentions, “A key difference between NotebookLM and traditional AI chatbots is that NotebookLM lets you “ground” the language model in your notes and sources. Source-grounding effectively creates a personalized AI that’s versed in the information relevant to you.”
The platform offers these features:
Summarizes facts: NotebookLM carries the ability to summarise facts from your notes and sources. This can be helpful for long documents to get the essence of it without reading the whole content.
Create ideas: This new AI platform can explain complex or generate new ideas from your notes and sources.
Citations: NotebookLM provides citations for its responses. This can be helpful for verifying the information that it is providing.
Google warns users that the platform might offer reduced hallucinations but it is always a smart decision to check the official sources against the AI material.
It is essential to note that the platform is still in experimental mode and it is available only for Google Docs for the beginning. The company plans to roll out additional formats soon.
The platform is only available in the US only and users are requested to join the waitlist. Here is what the official NotebookLM page states: “NotebookLM is your AI-first notebook, grounded in the information you choose and trust. NotebookLM is an experiment, and currently available in the U.S. only. Join the waitlist to try it for yourself.”
In conclusion, Google NotebookLM can prove to be a powerful AI-first notebook that carries the potential to be a valuable source for students, researchers, and anyone else who needs to gather and analyse information.
The platform is still under development, and its full capabilities will only be known as the company slowly rolls it out to more users.