On AI-created Podcasts, San Francisco Governance and more
"Pink Over City Hall" by Sergio Ruiz
Last week, I conducted an experiment in AI-based audio creation using slides from a September 19 presentation I made to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on City Governance.
The AI-generated audio was remarkably convincing.You can listen to the audio here. (it may take 2-3 seconds to start)
The audio 1) features two distinct voices that interact naturally, 2) expands on the content in an engaging and accurate manner, 3) has a realistic tone and 4) includes laughter and casual banter.
The source material was a 14-page presentation addressing the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury report "Lifting the Fog: On Budgets, Civic Innovation, Silos and more". It focuses on San Francisco's governance and includes responses from the City Administrator, the Mayor's Office, and the Board of Supervisors. The source material is available here.
The original report, released on June 25, was based on a comprehensive year-long investigation. The report is accessible here. I served as the investigation chair for this effort.
To create the audio, I used Google NotebookLM, a recently released (and experimental) AI service. In a blog post, Google said:
“we're introducing Audio Overview, a new way to turn your documents into engaging audio discussions.
"Audio Overview is still experimental ... these generated discussions are not a comprehensive or objective view of a topic but are simply a reflection of the sources that you’ve uploaded."
OUR TAKE
This experiment highlights the rapid advancements in AI technology, particularly in the realm of natural language processing and audio generation.
It demonstrates how AI can transform written content into engaging audio formats, potentially opening up new ways for content creation and accessibility.
It is important to understand the limitations of AI-generated content, including the potential for bias, misinformation and non-repeatabable outcomes.
Note: The report and slide deck were researched and created within the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury process - and did not leverage AI technology. The AI-generated audio podcast was created outside of the Civil Grand Jury process.