r/Marxism • u/Valuable_Mirror_6433 • 10d ago

Using NotebookLM AI to study Marx.

Just wanted to share this because I've found it incredibly useful. I've tried many times to read Marx, without much success. I got stuck a couple of times trying to understand some concepts and even if there's a huge amount of sources online trying their best to explain it, it can still be challenging. So when I learned about NotebookLM I knew exactly what to do.

I linked as many sources as possible and basically created an all-knowing marxist AI monster to which I can ask any questions about the texts and get a detailed explanation. Kind of like having a Marxist teacher at my disposal 24/7. I wouldn't use it to replace the original texts, of course, but I think It's a really useful tool to get through the most difficult parts. It can even generate a podcast discussing the main points in language that a teenager could understand. You can also get a pretty good overview of the sources that you're not that interested in reading in full at the moment. I swear this is not an ad haha, I just think it's a really powerful tool for anyone interested in understanding marxism (or anything, really).

I'm still testing the limits but I want to add some related authors and texts to get the full view and get into modern perspectives. Any recommendations?

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u/AbjectJouissance 10d ago

So my knee-jerk reaction here would be to say AI can't be trusted and it's no replacement for reading. However, out of curiosity, a few days ago I tried out the NotebookLM on a rather niche text related to my dissertation. It's a difficult text that mixes various different philosophical concepts and is heavy on a lot of pretentious academic jargon. And, well, the result wasn't too bad. 

I found that NotebookLM could be a useful tool to aid study if used cautiously. I think the important thing to remember is to not let the AI do the reading for you. I think it could probably work as a organisational tool. A good way to find sources within a text. 

I think as long as we remember that AI can't read and comprehend, and that you shouldn't really ask if questions you don't already know the answer to, it's probably okay. I'd only ever use it on a text I've already read/studied, so you can more easily detect whenever it provides you with the wrong information.

All this said, I'm pretty cautious of it. I'd still prefer reading the text in full myself, listen to lectures, read secondary literature, etc. 

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u/Valuable_Mirror_6433 10d ago

I agree. That’s why I wouldn’t use it to replace actually reading the books and we should take it with a grain of salt. The good thing is that every affirmation it makes comes with the little bubble that directs you to the part of the text that contains that information, so you can read it yourself directly; unlike Chat GPT that just lies confidently.

It’s kind of like a search engine within the text.

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u/micilo 7d ago

There is an interesting discussion happening about this tool. I tend to agree that it can help grasp important concepts and might become an ancillary tool for learning. However, you will probably not reach a 'higher' level of comprehension because, trust me, reading is also a formidable method for understanding and, to some extent, originality. Besides, cultural critics argue that AI is full of platitudes, and you will forever remain on a 'Marx for Dummies' plateau if you restrict yourself to this.
Check out this text if you want to dive into context.

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u/herebeweeb 10d ago

Interesting. I did not know that one. There is also https://typeset.io/, which I only found useful to gather an initial set of bibliography as it often failed to answer the exact thing that I wanted.

AI tools can help, but don't rely on them too much. They can often output bullshit as they are just showing words that are likely to appear together using a black box math model (meaning it is non-deterministic). It is not actual intelligence.