👀 AI-Generated Podcasts: Are Humans Being Replaced?

👀 AI-Generated Podcasts: Are Humans Being Replaced? 

Sep 28, 2024

AI is no stranger to replacing jobs, and now it’s eyeing a new profession: podcasting. Google’s experimental AI model, NotebookLM, has recently grabbed attention for its ability to generate realistic, human-like audio conversations. But the big question is: Could podcasters be the next to face automation? Let's break it down.

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1. AI-Generated Conversations Are Already Here

The reality of AI-generated podcasts is not some far-off sci-fi scenario. Google’s NotebookLM can already create podcast-like conversations from content users upload—books, articles, research papers. It doesn’t hallucinate, as it’s a RAG-locked model (meaning it only uses the data you feed it). When Roger Dooley tested this with his books Friction and Brainfluence, the results were shockingly human-like.

In just seconds, it produced a 15-minute dialogue that was casual, coherent, and sounded almost as if two real people were speaking—complete with pauses, interruptions, and even filler words like “um.”

2. Will AI Take Over the Podcasting World?

Despite how cool this sounds, don’t rush to call it the end of human podcasting. AI might mimic a conversation, but it lacks the personality, wit, and emotional depth that humans bring to the table. Sure, you could upload a research paper and get an AI-generated discussion out of it, but would it have the same flavor as a charismatic host interviewing a guest? Probably not—at least not yet.

That said, as the technology evolves, companies could start offering AI-generated podcasts as alternatives to traditional ones. Imagine a news article paired with an automated audio conversation—efficient, but perhaps not engaging.

3. Podcasting Meets Video

AI-generated audio is one thing, but what about video? Roger Dooley took his experiment a step further, using AI avatars from HeyGen to create a video version of the AI-generated conversation. While the result wasn’t flawless, it was better than most amateur YouTube videos. Could we be on the verge of seeing entire video podcasts generated by AI? Quite possibly.

But for now, this tech is far from perfect. The avatars are still a bit stiff, and cutting audio to match the video is tricky since NotebookLM creates one unified audio file. However, with some tweaks—like offering separate audio tracks—this could become a useful tool for content creators looking to save time.

4. AI Podcasts Won't Replace Human Creativity

So, should podcasters be worried? Not yet. While AI-generated content is getting more sophisticated, it still can’t replicate the human spark. Think about your favorite podcast—whether it’s an interview, a deep-dive into a niche topic, or just two friends chatting. The magic often lies in the unexpected tangents, jokes, and emotional nuances that AI simply can't produce.

Instead of replacing podcasters, AI may become a tool to assist them—maybe by creating quick summaries or generating topic discussions based on pre-existing content. Think of it as an enhancement, not a threat.

5. The Bottom Line: We’re Close, But Not Quite There

AI-generated podcasts are closer than you might think, but they’re not a full replacement—at least, not yet. What’s clear, though, is that technology is evolving rapidly. Soon, the gap between human and AI content may narrow further, challenging the boundaries of creativity and automation.