A very specialized, expert, government trial suggests that AI underperforms compared to people at summarizing information. 

Reading a book summary is not the same as reading a book. In fact, you miss the most important parts of the book when you read the summary. Worse yet, you may even fool yourself into thinking you know what the book is about. 

Whether it’s done by AI or a person, summarized information—books, notes, interviews, etc.—is definitely not the same as the raw material. The risk of misunderstanding or missed nuance increases drastically. 

Context, specificity, tone of voice—you don’t know any of that when you ask AI to summarize the information. Whether it’s right or not, I don’t think it’s reliable enough yet to completely outsource it. I’m not sure it ever will be. 

A summary is most helpful as, perhaps, an alternate perspective or a preview. It’s not a substitute for doing the actual work.

If you want to really understand a subject, you’ll want to do like Robert Caro does and turn every page. Read every line. Listen to every word.