[rafram]

> The one and only point listening to a discussion about anything is that at least one of the speakers is someone who has an opinion that you may find interesting or refutable.

No. Maybe that's true for you, but people enjoy learning in different ways, and some people learn best by listening to a discussion.

[mronetwo]

Unlikely. It's just that our brains are so fried by our smartphones/social media/24h of news/media consumption that we've lost the plot.

[the8thbit]

I don't doubt you're right about social media and smartphones rotting our attention spans. But also, peripatetic philosophy is ancient. I spend most of my day sitting. Whether its work, entertainment, or hobbies, most of these things have me sat in front of a screen. So its nice, and I do think it increases my retention, to be able to do something while walking or cycling instead of sitting.

[sodality2]

And if that means the best way to learn now is podcasts, what do you prefer: not learning, or learning via a way you view as inferior?

[cjaackie]

so that's the cool part, I think, instead of wasting time on socmed and news cycle composting, waste time on this instead. I think this is the general direction all media is headed, regardless of whether one agrees with it or not. Feed it whatever you want and it will shuffle together a plot, just for you.

[rafram]

It's unlikely that some people prefer to learn by listening to discussions?

[mronetwo]

You can prefer many things, but yes, it's unlikely there are people for whom listening two people talking is a good way of learning.

[squigz]

Well... I mean... you're wrong.

[low_tech_love]

Assuming you are one of them, I’m curious about one thing (honest question, not meant to disrespect): does it not bother you at all to know that those voices do not belong to any human being? When I listen to a semi-adolescent girl’s voice explaining something with a lot of “like”s and an informal tone, the fact that I know this was AI-generated makes me feel disgusted in my stomach (I am serious, this is not supposed to sound edgy or anything). I feel like my mind is trying to actively imagine the human being behind that voice, at the same time that it knows there’s none at all. Like I’m being cheated?

[rafram]

I'm not - I think I learn better by reading. But I know a lot of people who do prefer discussions, and I thought that the comment I replied to came off as arrogant and dismissive of the idea that anyone else might learn differently.

I've listened to a few NotebookLM samples but haven't used it myself, so I can't really speak to how creepy it is in practice. Probably pretty creepy! (I don't think that the female voice in the samples sounds "semi-adolescent," though, for what it's worth - both of the voices just sound like millennial podcasters to me.)

[the8thbit]

Not the person you're responding to, but no, it doesn't really bother me at all. What does bother me is that I don't have confidence in the value of the output, where as if I listen to This American Life, or a podcast or audiobook from a trusted authority, I don't have to worry about that.

[orangecat]

Fascinating. I don't have that reaction at all, but if it's common it could account for some of the variation in people's perceptions of AI.