A CIVIC CONVERSATION
Larry Toole on the Power and Potential of Saratoga Civic Pulse
The feature story you’ll find below was written by Gemini 2.0 from a dozen information sources I gave it in NotebookLM, which Google calls its “virtual AI research assistant.”
“Over the last year, we have been investing in developing more agentic models, meaning they can understand more about the world around you, think multiple steps ahead, and take action on your behalf, with your supervision,” Google tells us.
“With new advances in multimodality — like native image and audio output — and native tool use,” Google continues, these new models “will enable us to build new AI agents that bring us closer to our vision of a universal assistant.”
“Upload PDFs, websites, YouTube videos, audio files, Google Docs, or Google Slides, and NotebookLM will summarize them and make interesting connections between topics, all powered by Gemini 2.0’s multimodal understanding capabilities.”
“With all of your sources in place, NotebookLM gets to work and becomes a personalized AI expert in the information that matters most to you.”
Yep. This is just what it does. If you haven’t yet tried it, I suggest that you do.
I want to demonstrate how easy NotebookLM and Gemini make mining expert knowledge on any subject. Larry and I are exploring how we might sync “civic conversations” with experts on issues on which Saratoga Springs government is focusing, and include these in his Civic Pulse feeds.
I loaded the transcript that Otter produced of our January 16 conversation. I also loaded the audio recording that Zoom made of the same conversation and a link to a blog post about Civic Pulse that Larry had written, plus other relevant materials.
Then I gave Gemini this prompt:
”Write a full-length feature about Larry Toole and his development of Saratoga Civic Pulse, describing what inspired him and detailing the process by which he condenses three-hour City Council meetings into 10-minute podcasts voiced by two AI-generated reporters. Conclude with where he sees Saratoga Civic Pulse going in the future.”
In seconds, Gemini generated the story below.
This is the NotebookLM dashboard with my sources listed in the left-hand column. Click to enlarge.
A Saratoga Springs Citizen Creates AI-Powered
Podcast Summaries of City Council Meetings
By Gemini 2.0 as Prompted by Dan Forbush
Vetted by Larry Toole
Larry Toole, a 25-year resident of Saratoga Springs, New York, has always believed in the power of informed citizenry. Having spent three decades as a government consultant in the IT space, Toole witnessed firsthand how complex government proceedings can often alienate well-intentioned residents. Driven by a deep-seated commitment to truth and civic engagement, Toole embarked on a mission to bridge this gap, leveraging the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI). His creation, Saratoga Civic Pulse, is a testament to his vision—an AI-powered platform that distills lengthy city government meetings into digestible podcast summaries.
The process takes approximately four to five minutes, with an additional hour dedicated to Toole's careful review and fact-checking. He meticulously compares the AI-generated script with the original video, ensuring accuracy and making necessary adjustments to maintain neutrality. By publishing these summaries on Substack, Toole can deliver them directly to subscribers' inboxes. Those who haven't subscribed can also access the content through the Saratoga Civic Pulse website.
Larry Toole in our Zoom conversation on January 16.
Toole's journey began with a growing frustration with the pervasive spread of misinformation and disinformation. Recognizing the potential of AI, particularly in the realm of summarization, he began exploring ways to harness these technologies for civic good."I've had this growing frustration with disinformation, misinformation out there across our information networks," he shared. "I realized wait a sec, you’re interested in trying to push back against misinformation, disinformation, and get people good information."
Saratoga Civic Pulse, an experimental audio Substack, was born out of Toole's desire to make civic information more accessible. The platform offers podcast-style summaries of Saratoga Springs City Council, planning board, and design review board meetings, typically condensing three-hour sessions into recordings under 10 minutes long.
The process behind Saratoga Civic Pulse is a fascinating blend of human ingenuity and AI capabilities. Here's how Toole transforms lengthy meetings into easily digestible podcasts:
• Video Ingestion: The process begins with Toole feeding a video recording of a city meeting, or the meeting minutes, into his software.
• Audio Extraction and Transcription: The software extracts the audio track from the video and then employs speech-to-text technology to convert it into a written transcript.
• AI Summarization: The transcript is then fed into a large language model—specifically, Google's Gemini, chosen for its ability to handle large volumes of data. Through carefully crafted prompts, Toole instructs the AI to condense and summarize the content, generating meeting minutes that capture the key points of the discussion.
• Script Creation and Voice Generation: Once satisfied with the accuracy of the AI-generated minutes, Toole instructs the software to create a podcast script. This script is modeled after a two-way conversation between two AI agents. Finally, the script is fed into a text-to-speech service, which generates the audio for the podcast, allowing Toole to choose the voices used. Currently, the podcast features an AI host named Jessica and a voice cloned from Toole himself.
Larry’s headquarters for Civic Pulse in Substack.
"The truth is there," he states, emphasizing his commitment to providing citizens with reliable information. He acknowledges the concerns about potential bias in AI summarization but argues that similar challenges exist in traditional journalism where human reporters make editorial decisions about what information to include or exclude.
Toole is committed to keeping the podcasts nonpartisan, focusing on presenting a factual summary of events rather than amplifying political conflicts. He cites his handling of the participatory budgeting issue as an example. While the AI didn't focus on the conflict surrounding certain council members' votes against the initiative, Toole chose not to alter the summary, believing that highlighting the positive outcome—the budget passing—was more important.
Toole envisions several ways that AI could positively impact the future of civic engagement:
Automated summarization of government meetings, making information quickly available to the public.
Translation of government proceedings into different languages, increasing accessibility for diverse populations.
AI-powered civic engagement platforms that personalize information and connect residents with issues they care about.
However, Toole also acknowledges the potential downsides of AI. He is particularly concerned about:
The potential for AI to be used for misinformation and disinformation. He believes that the responsible and ethical use of AI is paramount to prevent this from happening.
The potential for bias in AI systems. Toole is aware that AI models are trained on data that reflects existing societal biases, which can lead to discriminatory outcomes.
The potential for AI to replace human jobs. He worries about the economic and social implications of AI taking over tasks traditionally performed by humans, like programming.
Despite these concerns, Toole believes that "the train has left the station" when it comes to AI, and society must grapple with its implications. He advocates for an informed public that can push back against the potential misuse of AI and advocate for its ethical development.
The project's success hinges on transparency and community trust. Toole encourages listeners to verify information from original sources and welcomes feedback to improve the platform's accuracy and effectiveness.
As AI continues to permeate various aspects of society, projects like Saratoga Civic Pulse are paving the way for a future where technology empowers citizens and strengthens the foundations of democracy.
Click here to hear the January 7 edition of “City Council Quick Summaries” voiced by “Larry” and “Jessica,” the “reporters” Larry generates with AI. (“Larry” is based on Larry’s own voice.)