Steven Johnson
@stevenbjohnson • 1,046,883 subscribers
Editorial Director, NotebookLM and Google Labs. Author of 14 books. Latest: The Infernal Machine. Speech inquiries email: wesn at leighbureau dot com
Videos
Two big steps towards our vision for NotebookLM as the ultimate research platform: • Integrating Deep Research, with a set of only-at-Notebook features that let you explore the retrieved sources • Launching a series of Featured Notebooks curated by Google Research These developments are designed to enhance the full life cycle of research and scholarship: using the power of AI to assemble the knowledge base you need to advance your understanding, and then making your work accessible and intelligible to a wider audience using all the explanatory tools that Notebook offers. If you've used DeepResearch in the Gemini app, you already know that it's a pioneering advance in assembling complex, grounded information on any topic imaginable—collecting an entire trove of material for you and writing a nuanced research report that summarizes the findings. But because NotebookLM is designed to manage and explore potentially hundreds of sources, the Deep Research report is only the beginning of your journey. In our integration, Deep Research gives you an overview all of the sources it found during its research phase, with annotated commentary explaining how each source related to your original query. You can then choose to import some or all of the sources to the notebook, along with the report itself, which you can then explore or transform using the full suite of tools that Notebook offers: grounded chat with citations, Mind Maps, Audio/Video overviews, and much more. And it's that suite of tools that make the Google Research Featured Notebooks so compelling as well. Each notebook contains a curated collection of articles on a specific topic, published by the Google Research team. Think of them as a kind of knowledge base of Google's best thinking on a series of compelling research questions: How do scientists link genetics to health? How will quantum computing be useful? If you're a specialist in these fields, you can read the original papers or ask nuanced questions in chat and advance your understanding of the latest developments. But these notebooks can also make the complex but important topics understandable to non-specialists or students. Each notebook comes with pre-generated audio and video overviews, flashcards, and other Studio artifacts designed to make the scientific and technological concepts accessible and interesting. And you can always explore the material with our new "Learning Guide" chat mode that effectively gives you a personal tutor to enhance your understanding. There's much more to come on this front, but you can see in these two announcements how we see Notebook as both a workbench for conducting research and a publishing platform for sharing the results of that research once you're ready to make it public. Deep Research is rolling out this week to all users. The first two Google Research notebooks are live now, both of them deep dives into our most recent discoveries involving genetics and health. (Links in the following tweets.) We'll be publishing new notebooks in the series every other week or so for the next few months.
Steven Johnson104,814 views • 8 months ago
All @notebooklm users can now join the conversation in Audio Overviews! Just choose "Interactive Mode" to try. I had the hosts discuss one of my books, then made a surprise guest appearance and asked for criticism. After a bit of flattery, they actually had great suggestions.
Steven Johnson174,672 views • 1 year ago
Nano-Banana images in NotebookLM's Video Overviews are truly jaw-dropping. It's like having an expert illustrator on your team to bring your ideas to life. My favorite style: Papercraft. Conveniently, I just wrote an essay on the invention of paper. Here's the VO version:
Steven Johnson28,650 views • 9 months ago
Input: Jane Jacobs quotes and YouTube interview; handwritten outline; education standards doc. Output: high-quality, standards-aligned urban planning lesson plan. Plus audio overview to promote the class. 10 minutes to create, all thanks to NotebookLM and Gemini. This video is a new demo of NotebookLM that I shared earlier this month at the AI + Education Symposium with MeshEd, XQ, and Betaworks. This is an educational use-case, but the general structure of what I’m doing in the demo—take a curated collection of sources and quickly transform them into a detailed document that obeys strict guidelines—is generally applicable to many fields. Note how I am not just using the sources as ground truth for the project, or as the content for the lesson plan. The Jacobs quotes and interview are the content, but my handwritten notes provide the structure, and the framework source provides the values or guidelines for the finished project. With some simple prompting, NotebookLM and Gemini can draw on information from the sources using those different modes simultaneously: content, format, values. (I even forgot to explicitly tell the model to use the structure outlined in my notes, but it figured that out anyway.) This is remarkably sophisticated knowledge work. Building a draft lesson plan like this would normally take hours if not days. But crucially I’m in control of the document that is being generated here — it’s based on the information that I have curated, and on the instructions I’ve given NotebookLM for adapting that information into the lesson plan I want to create. Co-intelligence, as @ethanmollick would call it. For more info on the great organizations that helped me put this demo together--orgs that are shaping the future of learning and increasing access to innovative approaches to curriculum design--visit and I’ve pasted the full text of the lesson plan below. As you can see in the video, the original version also included citations to the source material so with one click I could verify that NotebookLM was faithful to the original documents I uploaded. High-Level Lesson Plan: Urban Planning and Jane Jacobs This lesson plan outlines a project-based learning course on urban planning, designed for high school seniors. It centers on the influential ideas of Jane Jacobs and aligns with the HQPBL standards. Session 1: Introduction to Cities and Jane Jacobs • Begin by exploring the question: "What kind of problem is a city?" • Introduce Jane Jacobs' key ideas about urbanism, focusing on: • The importance of diversity in uses, buildings, and populations for vibrant city life. • The role of sidewalks and "eyes on the street" in ensuring safety and fostering a sense of community. • The value of old buildings in supporting diverse economic activity and fostering innovation. • The dangers of "single-use" zoning and the importance of mixed-use neighborhoods. • The limitations of top-down planning and the need for bottom-up, community-driven approaches. Use examples from Jacobs' book, "The Death and Life of Great American Cities," and excerpts from her interviews to illustrate these concepts. Encourage students to think critically about the challenges and opportunities presented by cities. Alignment with HQPBL: This session establishes the intellectual challenge, as required by the HQPBL framework, by prompting students to consider the complexities of cities. Introducing Jane Jacobs' ideas provides students with a theoretical framework for their projects. Session 2: Neighborhood Exploration Project Introduction: Students choose a local neighborhood to study. This allows for authenticity by connecting their learning to their own community and their lives. Research and Analysis: Students conduct a "close reading" of their chosen neighborhood, focusing on: • Observing the built environment, including streetscapes, building types, and public spaces. • Identifying areas where Jacobs' principles are evident or lacking. • Analyzing the neighborhood's strengths and weaknesses. • Documenting their findings through photography, sketches, maps, and written observations. Guiding Questions: Throughout the project, use guiding questions to promote intellectual challenge and help students connect their observations to Jacobs' ideas. Alignment with HQPBL: By choosing a local neighborhood, students undertake a project rooted in authenticity, directly connecting their learning to their own community. The "close reading" of their chosen neighborhood encourages intellectual challenge by requiring them to analyze the built environment and identify areas where Jacobs' principles are applicable. The use of photography, sketches, maps, and written observations allows for diverse forms of documentation, catering to various learning styles. Session 3: Proposing Interventions Brainstorming Solutions: Based on their analysis, students brainstorm potential interventions or improvements to their chosen neighborhood, applying Jacobs' principles. Project Proposal Development: Students develop their interventions into more concrete project proposals, incorporating elements of project management. Proposals should include goals, strategies, potential challenges, and realistic timelines. Encourage students to consider the perspectives of different stakeholders in the neighborhood. Peer Review and Feedback: Students present their project proposals to classmates for critique. This fosters collaboration and allows students to learn from each other's perspectives and refine their ideas. Alignment with HQPBL: This session emphasizes project management, as students transform their analyses into concrete proposals. They define goals, outline strategies, anticipate challenges, and establish realistic timelines, reflecting a systematic approach to project development. Collaboration is fostered through peer review and feedback, enabling students to learn from different perspectives and improve their proposals. Session 4: Final Presentations and Reflections Public Product: Students finalize their projects and present their proposed solutions to a wider audience, such as: • A panel of local urban planners, architects, or community members. • A public forum or community meeting. • An online platform or exhibition space. Reflection: Students engage in reflection throughout the project, documenting their learning, challenges, and insights. This could take the form of journals, blog posts, presentations, or group discussions. Encourage students to reflect on how their understanding of cities has evolved and the role they can play in shaping their future. Alignment with HQPBL: Presenting to a wider audience, such as local planners or community members, results in a public product, showcasing student learning and engaging the community. The emphasis on reflection throughout the project, as mandated by the HQPBL framework, encourages metacognition and deeper learning. Students document their learning process, challenges, and insights, fostering a sense of accomplishment and personal growth. Throughout the course, emphasize the relevance of urban planning to students' lives and future careers. Connect Jacobs' ideas to contemporary urban issues and encourage students to think critically about how to create more livable, equitable, and sustainable cities. This project-based learning approach, grounded in the work of Jane Jacobs and aligned with HQPBL standards, can empower students to become engaged and informed citizens, capable of contributing to the betterment of their communities.
Steven Johnson33,379 views • 1 year ago
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