Automatic transcription: what is it and where is it used?

Automatic transcription is a method of converting speech on audio or video recordings into text format without human intervention, i.e. using artificial intelligence capabilities. Thanks to the introduction of innovation, a person managed to get rid of the routine of writing down the necessary information using a fountain pen or keyboard, and then deciphering and editing the resulting text.

What is transcription?

This is the process of translating an audio sequence into readable text. You can do this manually or using neural networks, i.e. in automatic mode. With the manual recognition method, a person must either record the speaker’s speech using shorthand (in order to be able to write everything down and not miss anything), or use a voice recorder. Then the received transcripts or audio recordings will have to be decrypted, and the text will have to be typed on the keyboard. Before the advent of machine learning techniques, people did just that.

Modern servers and platforms developed on the basis of trained neural networks have taken on all the complexity of transcription. They can:

• record speech;
• recognize sounds, letters, and syllables;
• make words out of syllables, and sentences out of words.

Most programs speak dozens of languages, as well as additional editing, formatting, and noise removal options.

The main advantage of the technology is the speed of recognition: the machine spends minutes on the task. But there are also disadvantages: the quality of recognition still depends on pronunciation, diction of speakers, as well as extraneous noise. These factors can greatly reduce the quality of speech recognition.

Areas of application of innovation

Business

This is where technology is used the most. More than 25% of large and medium-sized companies have implemented speech recognition technology to solve various tasks:

• record managers’ telephone conversations, which allows you not to lose calls, monitor the quality of conversations, and identify the most effective methods of communication with the client;
• meeting logging and sammari compilation, which improved the quality of interaction between departments, team coherence, increased productivity, and facilitated staff work;
• expanding the user audience through video ads with subtitles for the hard of hearing, as well as foreigners;
• creating a customer database that includes not only the name, address, and phone number, but also preferences and suggestions that help you better understand what to offer a particular customer;
• conducting marketing research (surveys, feedback analysis, market changes);
• create promotional video content for blogs and social networks.

Education

Students and teachers use the innovation to compose lectures (dictate them much faster than typing) and take notes. You can use it to create more educational materials, including video tutorials, webinars, and conferences. The possibility of transcription from various sources, including foreign ones, has expanded the capabilities of scientists writing dissertations or collecting materials for scientific articles.

Healthcare

The routine of having to fill out patient cards and medical records took up most of the doctors’ working time, leaving them unable to work directly with patients and educate themselves.

The introduction of transcription technology relieved doctors and nurses from writing. Now doctors can dictate a medical history right during the patient’s appointment, spending more time talking.

Journalism and Mass media

The work of journalists is writing articles and publications based on the results of attending conferences, meetings, round tables, forums, as well as interviews that are conducted during these mass events. It is important not to mix up dates, insert quotes accurately, and do not miss figures and facts. At the same time, one of the important conditions for the success of the profession is the speed of transferring finished materials to print. Without the help of technical means, all this was difficult to perform and required a lot of time.

Work became much easier with the advent of sound recording devices, but people still had to spend many hours listening to audio (rewinding it many times), and then typing. And it was only with the introduction of neural network processing of audio information that journalists were able to breathe. It is enough to install the necessary program on your gadget, and you can write an article in parallel with the speakers’ speeches. You will still have to edit the text, but it will take much less time to prepare the material for printing.

The lives of those who prepare content on YouTube have also been simplified. This category of media workers no longer has to spend effort on preparation, as well as prescribing subtitles: now everything is done automatically.

Jurisprudence

In this social sector, it is necessary to work with large amounts of information at court sessions, where it is important to record every word of all participants without distorting the meaning. Lawyers also began to use transcription when preparing speeches.

Automatic transcription

There are three types of automatic speech recognition:

Streaming

It is used to work in real time, for example, during a phone conversation or to create subtitles in a video clip. The neural network recognizes what is said in parallel with the speaker and immediately translates the speech into a text format.

Synchronous

Unlike streaming, programs for synchronous transcription work with audio recordings. They are used to recognize messages in instant messengers, the length of which does not exceed 40 seconds.

Asynchronous

They are used to work offline. It is suitable for converting large-volume audio (recordings of conferences, interviews, lectures, webinars).

Tools and services