In partnership with

Want to sound really smart and impress friends and family with your AI knowledge? We found this article on 46 essential AI terms and thought it was perfect for our readers. Now you can talk confidently about algorithms, neural networks, and emergent behavior without skipping a beat.

Who knew that ‘foom’ was an actual word? We didn’t. 

In this week’s edition, we explore Google’s amazing podcast-style summaries, the essential AI skills reshaping the future of work, a quirky social app where your only 'friends' are bots, and a must-have AI tool for snagging last-minute dining reservations.

Let’s get started!

AI Audio Podcasts

Google’s experimental AI research assistant, NotebookLM, is expanding its features with Audio Overview—a tool that transforms your documents into podcast-style audio discussions. Following its global launch this summer, NotebookLM is transforming the way we access and simplify complex information.

Audio Overview acts like a personal tutor, summarizing complex topics, answering questions, and generating new ideas based on your content. Two AI-generated hosts break down and analyze your uploaded documents in real time, making the learning process more engaging.

How it works:

• Go to NotebookLM and create a new notebook.

• Upload sources, including Word docs, PDFs, URLs, or text.

• Click "Generate" in the Notebook guide to start the Audio Overview.

• Two AI hosts will audibly summarize and discuss your content, complete with thoughtful insights and back-and-forth dialogue.

• Download the audio and listen anywhere.

Our friend and tech enthusiast Cyrus Johnson tested the feature by uploading the U.S. Constitution, resulting in a lively, insightful discussion between the AI hosts.You can listen to it here.

Audio Overview is still experimental. Large notebooks may take several minutes to process, the AI hosts currently speak only English, and there can be occasional inaccuracies. NotebookLM’s Audio Overview adds a new dimension to personalized learning, all while keeping your data secure—so rest assured, it’s never used to train the system.

Receive Honest News Today

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Sign up today!

AI Career Building

The latest edition of the Harvard Business Review features an in-depth article on how generative AI is reshaping work—and why mastering AI skills is essential. We found it both insightful and extremely useful.

Top tech execs from Accenture, H. James Wilson and Paul R. Daugherty, predict that most business functions and more than 40% of all U.S. work activity will soon be augmented, automated, or reinvented with gen AI. The message is clear: to succeed, workers must adapt and develop “fusion skills” that blend human expertise with AI’s capabilities.

What are fusion skills?

• Intelligent Interrogation: It’s not just about asking AI questions; it’s framing them in such a way to drive better reasoning and outcomes. Think of it as thinking with AI.

• Judgment Integration: Pairing AI's outputs with human judgement—expertise and ethics—makes its results more reliable and trustworthy.

• Reciprocal Apprenticing: Train AI to understand your specific business needs through data-rich prompts. The more context you provide, the better AI performs as your co-creator.

Many employees use AI tools like large language models (LLMs) in an ad-hoc way, leading to inconsistent or poor outcomes, especially in complex reasoning. The authors warn this won’t cut it in the evolving AI-powered workplace.

The bad news: according to a recent survey, despite widespread enthusiasm—94% of professionals say they’re ready to learn new AI skills, but only 5% report receiving robust training from their company.

The authors offer practical steps to advance these fusion skills, making this article a must-read for anyone aiming to stay ahead of the curve.

AI Social Companions

Is it just us, or have some AI-powered products gone completely off the rails? Case in point: SocialAI, a new app that is similar to X, but with one key difference – there are no other humans!

Yes, you read that right. On SocialAI, the only interaction you’ll have is with a chorus of AI bots. They’ll respond instantly when you hit “post,” but the real twist? You get to decide who’s in your crowd. Whether you want feedback from cheerleaders, trolls, nerds, comedians, critics, or even political commentators - you can customize your virtual audience to suit your mood.

We got so caught up reading reviews here and here for the app, we didn’t bother testing it ourselves. The 28-year-old creator, Michael Sayman, likens it to writing in a diary or sending a letter you'll never mail—except with the bonus of immediate bot feedback.

Sayman managed to raise a $3 million seed round for his company, Friendly Apps, back in May 2022, before they even had a product to show for it. His pitch for SocialAI? A nostalgic return to simpler social media days, where chatting with a few friends was the norm, minus the toxicity that plagues modern platforms.

Honestly, it feels like there’s too much loose capital sloshing around in AI land these days.

Then again, there's something oddly reassuring about knowing with 100% certainty that you’re talking to an artificial entity. At least the bots won’t ghost you.

AI Food & Drink

We’re always on the lookout for AI tools that solve everyday pain points. Here’s one we absolutely love -- last-minute restaurant reservations just got easier for New Yorkers, thanks to The Shortlist, a new AI-powered app that locates same-day open tables. It filters by neighborhood, seating availability, and even ambiance preferences.

Launched by 23-year-olds Jenn Han and Josh Jung, The Shortlist taps into data from Google Maps and Resy to curate instant dining options. Whether you’re hunting for a “cozy candlelit spot” or just want to grab a seat right away, this tool has you covered.

Along with popular reservations, The Shortlist highlights under-the-radar, locally owned restaurants to help distribute foot traffic across the city's dining scene. The creators hope to shift demand away from notoriously hard-to-book spots and toward lesser-known gems.

In just over a month, the founders say they’ve gained thousands of email subscribers and processed more than 10,000 restaurant searches.

Currently available only in Manhattan and Brooklyn, the team is eyeing expansion to other major cities like San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., based on growing demand.

AI in the News (in case you missed it)

• Google, Volkswagen partner on smartphone AI assistant. Read here.

• James Cameron Joins Board of Stability AI in Coup for Tech Firm. Read here.

• Digital Deepak: Why the wellness icon created an AI version of himself. Watch here.

• When robots can't riddle: What puzzles reveal about the depths of our own minds. Read here.

Did you receive this from a friend, colleague, or family member? Please subscribe.

Have you tried a new AI-powered product? Let us know what you think.

Know anyone who might like our newsletter? Recommend it, and help grow our community!

Here.Now.AI Editorial team: Lori, Justin, and Lisa