Google has introduced a feature called “Daily Listen,” which uses AI to summarize news and generate a podcast. This feature is similar to Google’s “Audio Overview” from their AI notebook tool, NotebookLM, where users provide content that is transformed into a podcast. “Daily Listen” creates a personalized podcast daily, based on the search behavior and news consumption of Google users, using AI to compile relevant search results and news content into a podcast. The podcast includes a display of the spoken text.
The daily episode is about five minutes long and provides an overview of what has happened in areas of interest to the user throughout the day. It is presented in a player that allows users to pause or rewind the content, as reported by 9to5google.com. Users can also mute the podcast to read the text instead. Below the player, there are additional details about the topics covered. However, this feature is currently an experiment available only to users in the United States.
For publishers, this could mean a further decline in users visiting their online platforms via Google, as there may be less need to click on individual articles to get a detailed overview of the day’s news, which was previously achieved by scanning headlines and snippets.
Google must ensure that its Gemini AI does not make similar mistakes to those made by Apple’s AI, known as Apple Intelligence. Apple’s AI summaries have been so inaccurate that the BBC felt compelled to complain to the iPhone maker. Examples of fake news generated by Apple AI include the announcement of a false dart world champion and the alleged coming out of a tennis player. There is even a subreddit dedicated to Apple Intelligence errors, which recently included false reports of Mel Gibson and Nikki Glaser being declared dead.
In addition to the BBC, publications like the Daily Mail and the New York Times have also been affected. Even private chat summaries have sometimes been bizarre and incorrect. Apple has promised a fix via an update.
This development highlights the importance of accurate AI-generated content and the potential implications for news publishers and consumers. It also underscores the need for companies like Google and Apple to refine their AI technologies to avoid spreading misinformation.
Stay updated with more news on software and development by signing up for our newsletter. Please enter a valid email address to subscribe. If you encounter any issues, try submitting the form again. Don’t miss out on important updates—complete your subscription by clicking the link in the confirmation email. For more information on the newsletter, click to learn more.