It is fair to say that in 2023, there is going to be a boom in how often AI is used in businesses.
It can encompass everything from assessing customer behaviors to being used in marketing, and even helping with adverts to promote companies.
So, it stands to reason that it should be able to help in other areas, right?
Well, that’s a bit of a yes and no answer. It is true that AI technologies have come a long way in the last year and are showing signs of advancing, as Chat GPT is being adapted regularly as well as the AI Bing GPT 4 is uploaded into the browser. However, there are a few areas where AI may be falling on its face. In this article, the area being looked at is transcription.
Transcription or transcribing refers to the procedure of converting audio tape or video recordings into a written or text format. It involves listening to an audio or video recording and typing out the words that are spoken. Transcription is often used in a variety of fields, such as journalism, business, and academia, where recorded interviews or speeches need to be converted into a written format for analysis or publication. The resulting transcript can be edited and formatted to suit the specific needs of the project or intended audience. Transcription can be done manually by a human transcriber, or it can be automated using software that recognizes and transcribes speech.
However, if you are a business that invests heavily in the transcription of meetings, market research, or in legal transcription services, you will want to know which is better; traditional transcription conducted by a trained human or an AI bot? Well, this article aims to explore that question and many more, so read on.
Which Companies Rely on Transcription?
Unless you have worked in an area such as law, you may think that all kinds of transcriptions are obsolete. Of course, this is not the case, and in fact, this is a skill that is still used in an array of businesses, meaning that there is as much of a need as there ever was for corporate transcription.
So, which businesses need professional transcription services?
Legal Firms
Lawyers often record depositions, hearings, and other legal proceedings, which require transcription for accurate documentation. So, they need someone trained to transcribe what they are saying quickly and accurately.
Medical Practices
Doctors and healthcare professionals may record patient consultations, diagnosis, and treatment plans, which need to be transcribed for accurate medical records.
Business Meetings
Large corporations may have important meetings or presentations that need to be transcribed for internal records and distribution to employees or stakeholders.
Media Companies
News outlets, radio stations, and television networks often need transcriptions of interviews and other recorded content for editing and publication.
Academic Institutions
Universities and research organizations may require transcription of lectures, interviews, and focus groups for analysis and publication and online notes for students who have not been able to attend lectures.
Is AI Transcription Good?
Okay, so it’s important to consider that AI has progressed exceptionally in recent years in transcribing human speech. However, there are still some challenges and issues that need to be addressed.
So, when comparing an AI to a human transcriber, what are some of the common issues that an AI will face?
Accents and Dialects
Most people have met that one person who is from an area of the US that has a broad accent that they cannot understand. Indeed, human speech patterns can vary greatly depending on the speaker’s accent, dialect, and pronunciation. This can make it difficult for an AI to transcribe speech accurately, especially if it is not familiar with a particular accent or dialect.
Of course, humans may struggle with this too, but it is less common.
Background Noise
Ambient noise, such as traffic, wind, or music, can make it difficult for an AI to distinguish between the speaker’s voice and other sounds in the environment. This can result in inaccurate transcriptions or missing words. However, a human transcriber will be able to filter out such noise and will not confuse it with what is being said.
Overlapping Speech
It is something that is confusing enough when you are watching a film, but when you overhear it on an audio tape, it can take a few attempts to make sense of it. In conversations where multiple people are speaking at once or interrupting each other, it can be difficult for an AI to accurately transcribe the words of each speaker and distinguish between the voices. However, as a human can detect the differences in the voices of each speaker, they will be able to separate the overlapped talking.
Homophones
Homophones are simply words that sound the same but have different meanings, such as “to,” “too,” and “two.” It can be challenging for an AI to transcribe homophones, especially if the context is not clear accurately. However, as you guessed, humans who are trained in transcription will be able to make sense of the sound and will spell it appropriately.
Technical Terminology
In certain fields, such as medicine or law, technical terminology may be used that is not familiar to the AI. This can result in incorrect transcriptions or misinterpretations of the text, which can lead to someone needing to go back and double-check the transcription. If you were to hire a company that specializes in these areas to listen to conversations, they would immediately be able to recognize the words being used and would have no issues with spelling them.
Speech Patterns
Human speech can include a variety of speech patterns, such as stuttering, slurring, or mumbling, and can even be impacted by the position of someone’s teeth in their mouth. These patterns can make it difficult for an AI to transcribe speech accurately, leading to an array of spelling issues appearing in the transcript. However, as humans can make sense of speech patterns with ease, hiring a human transcriber will bypass this issue.
Translation
Okay, it is an ongoing joke that Google translate is not exactly great at what it does. Plus, in a similar vein, using an AI to translate documents can be an accident waiting to happen, especially in the corporate world.
So, in this sense, it is best to hire a team that can translate the transcription for you, ensuring that all of the spelling is correct and that the document makes sense.