Research is one of the most critical and time-consuming challenges facing writers and academics. As a journalist engaging with complex and technical subjects, I find that staying properly informed can be a job in itself.
Recently, Google has been developing new artificial intelligence-powered tools that transform writing and text materials and YouTube videos into audio or podcasts to assist researchers in their learning processes.
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Now the tech giant is experimenting with a new AI-powered tool called Illuminate, which enables users to convert lengthy and dense research papers and books into concise AI-generated audio conversations. Google describes the tool as an "experimental technology that uses AI to adapt content to your learning preferences."
Illuminate is similar to Google's NotebookLM, an experimental AI notebook that combines LLMs with user notes -- such as PDFs, websites, YouTube videos, audio files, and Google Docs -- to further your understanding of a topic by discussing it with you. Illuminate also generates audio discussions, too, but it's tailored to more technical content and limited formats.
What is Illuminate?
Illuminate uses AI to transform published papers and works into audio discussions with "two AI-generated voices in conversation" discussing the key points and takeaways of the paper. According to Google, "Illuminate is currently optimized for published computer science academic papers."
How to use Illuminate
To test the technology, I signed in with my Google account and uploaded PDF links of technology-oriented papers I've been reading for work. On the Illuminate website, I went to the Generate tab, where I could either search for a topic on arxiv.org or directly paste the URL of a PDF from arxiv.org. For my first audio conversation, I uploaded a PDF link for a paper called Power to the People? Opportunities and Challenges for Participatory AI.
After uploading the link, I pressed Generate and waited a few minutes (it may take longer depending on the length of the paper and current traffic) for the 17-page paper to turn into an audio conversation. When generation was complete, I pressed the Play button to listen to the newly generated audio conversation and saved it to my library. Note that "audio conversations are deleted after 30 days unless you save them to your personal library."
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You can access your library by tapping My Library, which contains two sections -- Personal and Public (publicly available generated audio conversations). You can also view the transcript of the conversations and share your audio generations with other people by tapping the "Share this content" icon at the bottom. Here is a link to my audio generation of the above-mentioned paper.
The audio conversation succinctly vocalized the major themes and takeaways contained in the paper. I was also surprised by how realistic the conversation sounded -- as if I was tuning into my favorite tech podcast. Currently, voice customization is automatically set to "general audience, medium, and semi-professional."
I can see this tool being quite helpful for academics, students, and writers who engage with lengthy research papers. Illuminate can be used as a research assistant tool if you have trouble grasping key points in a paper and need an extra boost from AI to hone in on what you might have missed after doing the reading.
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Currently, users are limited to five audio generations per day.
How to access Illuminate
You can access Illuminate at https://illuminate.google.com/home and you must have a Google account to sign in.