To hear the related 5-minute audio file that I uploaded today as my Morning Journal flash briefing for Alexa devices, please click on the play button:
How Do It Know That?
A year ago, when I took Tiago Forte’s Annual Review workshop, my journal helped me to see my way into the new year.
I didn’t have time to read all the entries, of course. I wrote them longhand on a Kindle Scribe, uploaded them as PDFs and printed them out. They fill a two-inch thick blue binder.
I sampled my journaling. I read the same day for each month of the year, taking notes on themes and recurring questions.
This year, Google Labs transformed my journal into something I never dreamed possible.
After listening to Dan Shipper’s Every Podcast conversation with Stephen Johnson, I knew I had to try NotebookLM. Johnson was hired by Google to work on a new AI tool for writers. I didn’t actually fire up the Google Labs creation until I began work on this year’s Annual Review.
Tiago in an introductory session said NotebookLM might be a useful tool for exploring a year’s journal entries. Bingo.
I was surprised at how easy it was to upload my journal PDF pages, this year written on my iPad in Notability. Notebook didn’t gag at my scratchy penmanship and didn’t require a conversion to text. It just gobbled up more than 2 GB of my words as sources for a notebook I titled “2024 Journal.”
Now, when I tap open the notebook, I can type any question I like into the chat field.
For example, “Is technology a good thing or a bad thing in my life?”
NotebookLM, to whom I have not given a nickname (suggestions are welcome), took a few seconds to consult my journal, then scrolled out a page-long reply. I am referred to as “the author,” which I like. They and them are not my usual pronouns, but I’m okay with them.
The sources present a complex view of technology's role in the author's life, with both positive and negative impacts.
After nine bullet points comes this summary:
The sources suggest that technology is neither inherently good nor bad, but rather a tool that can be used in ways that either enhance or detract from the author's well-being. The author appears to be engaged in an ongoing effort to find a healthy balance, using technology in ways that support creativity and connection while mitigating its potential downsides. There is an awareness of the need for mindfulness and intention in their technology use, as well as a recognition that true fulfillment may come from things that are not related to technology. The author's approach to technology can also be described as one of curiosity, experimentation, and self-reflection, which is characteristic of the approach they take to many things in their life.
A crazy/wonderful side gig of NotebookLM is its ability to create an audio conversation that sounds like a podcast.
When I click on the Studio tab and then “Load,” a 16-minute pod appears. A man and a woman are chatting about what they’ve found in my journal, as if they’d spent the last three days studying it.
You will hear a snippet of their remarks on today’s Morning Journal. (See player bar at the top of this post.)
I am going to know more about the year 2024 than any previous year of my life.
Excellent piece. Despite my high level of wariness I have finally started playing with AI and finding things intriguing.
Wow, love the conversation between the two AI figures discussing your journal.