Summary

• Discover how Google's Gemini Pro model in NotebookLM can create study guides, FAQs, quizzes, and even spoken dialogue discussions.
• Experience the interactive and personalized learning experience by connecting physics and basketball through AI-generated examples.
• Despite some potential limitations, the new features in NotebookLM show that Google is committed to making AI beneficial for all students.

Recent developments in the AI space are really beneficial for students. No, really, I wish tools like ChatGPT and Google's Gemini were around when I was a student. They would have made passing call classes with top grades a breeze. The best AI tools, like Google's NotebookLM, which allows you to upload documents and text to Google's servers and use language models to summarize the materials, can save students hours of time.

In an attempt to upgrade NotebookLM, Google, at its annual Google I/O developer conference, announced that its Gemini 1.5 Pro model is coming to NotebookLM, unlocking new functionalities for the tool.

The tool now allows you to create a "Notebook guide" from the documents and text you feed it, which is essentially a summary that can generate study guides, FAQs, and even quizzes. However, the main update here is "Audio overview," which can take all the information you feed it as input and create a spoken dialogue discussion from it, benefiting those that learn the best when they listen to information, rather than reading it.

In an example shown on-stage, the tool was able to generate a spoken discussion between two people about physics, specifically force and motion. The presentation also included a demonstration on how the user can join in on the discussion.

You can join the discussion and ask questions!

Josh Woodward, VP at Google Labs, joined the discussion, and asked the tool to give his son Jimmy a "basketball example." The tool quickly jumped in and said, "Hey Jimmy, that's a fantastic idea. Basketball is actually a great way to visualize force and motion," before continuing to break down how physics and basketball are connected.

By connecting the dots between basketball and physics, the tool was able to generate a spoken-word and age-appropriate example, making the learning experience a lot more interactive and personalized.

As always, it is not certain that the tool will always work as presented by Google on-stage. It's worth noting that small text on the bottom right of the presentation indicates that the audio was pre-generated. We'd have to try out the feature for ourselves to see if it works as intended. Regardless, bringing Gemini 1.5 Pro to NotebookLM is a welcome addition, and proves that Google is making AI helpful for everyone.