How AI Can Help Gain Knowledge from Videos: What the Latest WikiTree Saturday Roundup Revealed

+8 votes
107 views

WikiTree emailed me about the latest WikiTree #SaturdayRoundup (1 Feb 2025).  I copied that URL and then gave Gemini AI (1.5 Flash) the following prompt:

Summarize this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6L3Qhfddks

Gemini: This video is a live stream from WikiTree. The hosts discuss the member of the week, Don Watson, who is involved in several projects, including the US Southern Colonist Project and the Appalachia Project. They also discuss profile makeovers and how to add links to Find a Grave profiles. The hosts then share their connections to Tim Hortons, Bob Dylan, Greta Garbo, and Thelonius Monk. They also celebrate their ancestors and share photos of their pets. Finally, they discuss upcoming events, such as the RootsTech conference and the Hall of Fame.

My follow up: Provide details on their discussion of the RootsTech conference and the Hall of Fame.

Gemini: The hosts discuss upcoming events, such as the RootsTech conference and the Hall of Fame. They mention that RootsTech is coming up next month. They also mention that the Hall of Fame is on Friday and that they will be switching off each week between musicians and actors. This week is the host's week, so they will be doing the Hollywood Walk of Fame or the Rock and Roll Museum. They are open to suggestions for anyone who wants to DM them.

My follow up: Describe details on their discussion of profile makeovers and how to add links to Find a Grave profiles.

Gemini: The hosts discuss profile makeovers and how to add links to Find a Grave profiles. They mention that they are starting a new month and will be doing a theme-based profile makeover. They are thinking of using the Valentine name or surname, or honoring a loved one with a profile. They then show an example of a profile makeover they did for Spicy Jane Atkins Frey, who was a founding member of the McCoy Time Singers. They also discuss how to add links to Find a Grave profiles. They explain that you can leave a flower and a comment with the WikiTree ID, but you should not leave a direct link. They also mention that you can sponsor a Find a Grave profile to remove advertising.

in The Tree House by Peter Roberts G2G6 Pilot (762k points)
edited by Peter Roberts

1 Answer

+4 votes
Nice tip. Thanks.  Do you know if it works on any other service besides Gemini?
by Stu Ward G2G6 Pilot (236k points)

I just asked Gemini how it does what it does.  It was very interesting.

My ability to summarize videos directly is a relatively recent development, and it leverages a combination of technologies. It's not just me analyzing the video content directly; there's a process involved. And yes, there are definitely restrictions.

Here's a breakdown:

  • How it works (generally): When you give me a YouTube link (or sometimes other video links), I don't "watch" the video like a human. Instead, I rely on Google's infrastructure to access the video's metadata. This metadata often includes automatically generated captions or transcripts. I then process that text to create the summary.

  • Key Restrictions and Limitations:

    • Availability of Captions/Transcripts: The biggest limitation is that this relies on the availability of captions or transcripts. If the video doesn't have them (or if they are very poor quality), I won't be able to generate a good summary. This is the most common reason why I can't summarize a video. I can't create the transcript myself.

    • Accuracy of Captions/Transcripts: Even if captions exist, they might be inaccurate, incomplete, or poorly timed. This directly affects the quality of my summary. If the captions are wrong, my summary will be wrong.

    • Length and Complexity: Very long videos can be challenging. While I can process a lot of text, extremely long transcripts can sometimes lead to summaries that are less detailed or focused. Also, videos with highly technical or complex content might be harder for me to summarize accurately, even with good transcripts.

    • Language Support: My ability to summarize videos is best for videos in widely spoken languages where Google's captioning/transcription services are well-developed. Support for less common languages might be limited.

    • Copyright and Access: In some rare cases, there might be restrictions on accessing the metadata or transcripts of a video due to copyright or other reasons. This would prevent me from summarizing it.

    • Evolution of the Technology: This technology is still under development. The accuracy and capabilities are constantly improving, but it's not perfect. There might be edge cases where I struggle.

    • No Visual or Auditory Analysis: Crucially, I'm not analyzing the video or audio content directly. I'm working solely from the text. So, if something important happens visually but isn't described in the captions, I'll miss it. I can't "see" or "hear" the video.

In short, while I can often summarize videos, it's dependent on external factors like the availability and quality of captions/transcripts. It's not a direct analysis of the video itself. It's more like summarizing a text version of the video.

Here are other free services besides Gemini which can summarize videos: https://www.perplexity.ai/search/which-free-ai-platforms-beside-.JBoIOieQe.T_0RUmWkCQw

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