Using NotebookLM to Compare Party Platforms

I like to offer some uses for AI that are easy to create and that others may find interesting to explore. NotebookLM is a free product that allows users to identify sources and then chat with that source material. Present interest in the Presidential Conventions and contrasting views of the Democratic and Republican parties led me to this idea. What if I loaded the two parties’ platforms into NotebookLM and then asked the AI system to contrast the position statements on issues that I care about. I write mostly about technology and education so instead of the entire platforms, I uploaded the sections that dealt directly with education.

If you want to try this same activity yourself, it was easy enough to find both the Democratic and Republican platforms online and upload the sections within the platforms focused on K12 education. The Democratic platform is available such that the sections can be downloaded as individual PDFs. The Republican platform is one long file, but it was easy enough to copy and paste the section focused on K12 education.

NotebookLM is available online. What you will see when connected is displayed in the following image. For this demonstration, you will want to first upload your source material. If you identify the large red rectangle on the left side of the image, you will see it that says sources. You can upload multiple sources. You should see a +. Selecting this icon will reveal a dialog box asking you to identify a source by type. I had a pdf which I uploaded as Democrat and a section of text which I uploaded after selecting the “text file option). Make sure both sources are selected and then you can begin by interacting with the AI tool (see the horizontal red rectangle near the bottom of the image). 

I entered the prompt – Ask what the Democratic and Republican platforms have to say about funding for K12 education and received the following response.

The AI tool also suggested several additional prompts should I be interested in suggestions related to this topic.

Contrasting Funding Priorities for K-12 Education: Democrats vs. Republicans

Both the Democratic and Republican platforms express commitments to improving K-12 education in the United States, but they differ significantly in their approaches to funding.

Democrats

• Prioritize equitable funding: The Democratic platform emphasizes addressing funding disparities between schools in different socioeconomic areas. They highlight that using property taxes to fund schools disproportionately disadvantages low-income districts.
• Increase federal funding: Democrats propose tripling Title I funding, which specifically targets schools with high concentrations of low-income students. They also advocate for “progressive funding formulas” at the state level to direct more resources to schools with greater needs.
• Support specific programs and services: Democrats outline various programs and services requiring increased funding, including:
  • Universal free school meals
  • Wraparound services like healthcare, before- and after-school programs, and adult education classes
  • Expansion of community schools
  • Increased resources for guidance counselors, social workers, nurses, and school psychologists to support students’ mental health

Republicans

• Critique federal spending and control: The Republican platform criticizes the current level of federal spending on education, stating that despite high per-pupil spending, the U.S. lags behind other countries in terms of educational outcomes.
• Advocate for decentralization: Republicans propose closing the Department of Education and returning control and funding responsibilities to individual states. This suggests a shift in the balance of funding responsibility from the federal to the state level.
• Focus on school choice and alternative models: The Republican platform emphasizes expanding school choice options like charter schools, homeschooling, and 529 Education Savings Accounts. This approach suggests a preference for directing funding towards a wider range of educational options chosen by parents, rather than focusing solely on traditional public schools.

Key Differences and Implications

• Role of federal government: Democrats see a significant role for the federal government in funding and ensuring equity in K-12 education, while Republicans advocate for a reduced federal role and greater state autonomy.
• Funding distribution: Democrats emphasize directing more resources towards schools and students with higher needs, while Republicans focus on providing funding mechanisms that empower parental choice, regardless of income level.
• Specific program priorities: Democrats prioritize funding for a broader range of social and support services within schools, while Republicans do not explicitly address these programs in their funding proposals.

It’s important to note that neither platform provides detailed budgetary breakdowns or explains how these funding increases would be financed. 

I copied the response so that I could provide it here. You will see first summaries of what the AI decided were important points associated with each platform followed by a summary of the contrasts I requested. If you look at the following image, it looks a little different. After the sections of the AI response, you should see multiple sections followed by a small symbol (sometimes more). If you click on one of these symbols, the lefthand panel will bring up the original document the AI system used in generating that specific part of the response to your prompt. 

Video

Summary

I thought this application represents a concrete application of NotebookLM. It builds from multiple source documents and responses to prompts asking for analysis of the contents of these documents. I don’t know if educators would feel concerned about using this idea in their classrooms because of the topic, but it is objective and relies on the material offered by the parties based on what they have to say about a specific issue.