Google Illuminate is a groundbreaking program that is currently in its early access phase. This innovative platform harnesses the power of AI to generate audio with two AI-generated voices engaging in a conversation, dissecting the critical points of select papers. Illuminate is currently fine-tuned for published academic papers in computer science, hinting at a potential revolution in the accessibility of scholarly research. Imagine listening to these papers on a long drive or for someone visually impaired- the possibilities are fascinating.
The whole conversational AI is compelling, with both a male and female doing dual narration. It is miles ahead of most text-to-speech platforms, and Amazon Polly outperforms them. Since it is new, Little is known about the uploading process. People who got invited said they upload a PDF file, and the AI does the rest. However, a few unknowns exist, such as users embedding them into their blogs or websites or even exporting them as podcasts or YouTube videos.
Google Illuminate holds endless potential beyond just research papers and articles. The service is likely to be accessible to a wide range of users, sparking widespread adoption. In the future, it may offer a free tier, where only a certain number of minutes can be read, or a premium tier, with unlimited text. The potential applications of this platform are vast, from educational content to entertainment.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.