John Kaag says that the Boston-based company he co-founded uses AI to help with reading. But it won't make it easier — in fact, he says it will make it even harder.
Kaag, a professor of philosophy at University of Massachusetts, Lowell, says the purpose behind his company, Rebind, is to make reading more interesting for its readers. The app allows readers to ask questions about the book with 26 “Rebinders,” or specialists, who provide extensive commentary on the books.
With each of its five books, readers have access to 90 minutes of film and 10 to 30 hours of commentary that they can interact with. The idea behind the app is like a master class for a general audience that provides professional insight and breakdowns for literary classics.
“We're trying to slow things down through this engagement with AI and these virtual or interactive commentaries. We're trying to slow a reader down and tap into mindfulness, deep reading, or close reading skills,” Kaag said.
Whereas other generative AI tools draw from large swaths of information from all over the internet, the AI engines for Rebind only draw from the transcripts of the 15-30-hour interviews with the Rebinders.
- Sign up for The Beat, BostInno’s free daily innovation newsletter. See past examples here.
The AI engine is capped at a specific word limit and only operates within the scope of the commentary given by the Rebinder. If a reader asks Rebind to provide information outside of the given commentary about the book, the app will redirect the reader to questions more in line with the commentary.
Kaag and his co-founder, John Dubuque, intend to use the app for a broader audience. In the coming year, they plan to move towards the education sector and include spiritual texts.
"I know that many of my students struggle with getting through books, and the line between them not reading at all and reading with a certain type of tool made me realize that maybe if I don't help create this tool or product, students won't have a way to get through these books," Kaag said.
The app is releasing its first five classic books: “Dubliners,” “Thus Spoke Zarathustra,” “The Great Gatsby,” “Walden,” and “Heart of Darkness.” All the books are available to purchase in the app for $29.95, the average price of a hardcover book. The company plans to have a subscription-based model for $120 a year.
The five titles are the only books available through Rebind, and another five will be released next month. After its first 10 books, the company plans to release two to three monthly books.
"Chatbots usually are built to answer our questions. Rebind asks the reader the right questions. So, it requires us to answer and to give our interpretations, and when we do, the model continues to ask about the conversation that you're having," Kaag said.
