If you’re a transcriptionist with a heavy workload, your fingers might be screaming for a break. If you’re a business entity, you might be looking to cut your expenses. Automated transcription and writing software programs are the latest crazes to sweep the world. Here’s some information about the programs and why you might want them.
What Is Transcription?
Transcription is the act of converting an audio document into a piece of text for digital or paper filing. Court hearings, interviews, phone calls, and memoirs are examples of audio files someone may want to transcribe or have transcribed. In traditional transcription, a human being sits at a terminal, listens to audio recordings, and types the spoken words into a document. The individual then proofreads, edits, and formats the document to the client’s specifications.
Types of Transcription Services
There are typically three ways to have a document transcribed. The first is to use the above-mentioned manual method and do it yourself. You may also opt to use human transcription services and allow third-party contractors or employees to use the manual method to transcribe the documents you need. Artificial intelligence has been emerging in various industries as well. It has now infiltrated the writing and transcribing realms and is a third option for getting your documents transcribed.
What Is Transcription Software?
Transcription software is an artificial-intelligence-based program designed to perform a human’s job at a faster pace. Software manufacturers claim that these programs can transcribe accurate documents within minutes.
If the claim is valid, it could eliminate countless hours of typing for a transcriber or save money for a business via payroll cuts. The latter is most likely the software’s intention, as businesses would no longer have to hire or retain human transcribers. Hence, artificial intelligence can be a double-edged sword for people in writing and transcribing professions.
Is Transcription Software Accurate?
Software retailers claim that AI programs transcribe documents at 10 times the rate of a human being. They also claim the software is accurate. The only way to test their claims is to use the program and measure it against your normal work pace. You could use it to see if the number of errors you have to correct void the AI’s superior transcription speed.
If you are a business entity that outsources transcription services, you could compare the turnaround time and expenses to what you’re used to. However, most programs cost money to explore. So you’ll need to make an initial investment to see if those claims are true.
Do You Need Transcription Software?
The choice of whether to invest in transcription software is up to you. Many people still prefer the manual human methods of transcribing audio because artificial intelligence is patterned after human subjects and is also imperfect.
These die-hard individuals prefer to craft things themselves and then use the standard editorial process to correct their work. However, you might be interested in seeing if the software can decrease your work time or costs. In that case, you can test a program and then time your process to see if it makes a difference.