Amid the pandemic, work-from-home jobs are rising. These jobs need people, like yourself, in your home and using your computer for the job. Transcription is a job type in this work-from-home scenario.
You clicked this article to know if an AI is better than you for the job. The truth is that you are definitely better than a computer in many ways! Here are some of the best reasons that humans are better than AI in transcription:
Accuracy Is the Goal
Transcription needs to be accurate. The message of the speaker needs to be precise. This process inhibits the misunderstandings among those who review the transcript.
If you wonder whether AI or Artificial Intelligence is always accurate, it is not. It measures the words based on the way the speaker speaks them. If there is a discrepancy, the AI will not understand it.
You, as the transcriber, have a better understanding of this scenario. It is because you can understand the message of the speaker and can fill in the missing words.
Robots Do Not Understand Voice That Well
The previous point states that AI cannot understand discrepancies well. It also applies to the voices of the speakers. It is because people have different accents and pronunciations. Even though some people do not understand some accents, we know them more than AI.
Accents Are Hard For Robots
As a trainee in transcription, it is your job to understand the different accents of the speakers. It would be best to learn how to adapt and provide the correct conclusion. A machine is incapable of this conclusion.
Translation machines are not yet advanced for this technology. The machines nowadays do not comprehend many accents throughout the world. Some of the mistakes of AI include mistranslating or even misuse of words.
Dialects Affect AI
Another factor that affects the misuse of words by machines is dialects. Some machines do not have an entire database of words to rely on. It is because different places have different dialects. For those who do not know, a dialect is a form of a language from a region or social group. Since there are many social groups within towns, dialects differ from place to place.
These dialects affect AI since it needs the collection of dialects from these places. People do not need this since they can search the internet and base the transcript there.
People Know More About Their Work
Another factor that proves that humans are better at transcription is experience. Through experience, you can understand the jargon and concepts based on the speaker.
Robots Do Not Know Jargons
Do you know some workplace words that others outside it do not know? Well, those words are jargon. Jargon is unique from workplace to workplace.
Who could have known that these words would help you in your transcription job? Well, it is because machines do not understand this jargon.
A transcriptionist with high knowledge of a topic is better than an AI. In the medical field, every word is vital to consider. For example, the word dysphagia might be equal to dysphasia in a machine transcript. Keep in mind that this mistake can lead to large problems since these are different.
Contexts Are Important
Contexts are important in every speech. Without it, people may misinterpret the message of the speaker.
It is the same as watching a TV show. You do not want to watch an episode with no knowledge of the previous ones. You will not understand the plot and the build-up of the show. Hence, you will not enjoy it.
A human transcriber needs to place the words in context for comprehension. A machine cannot put the correct words with context. Context is the basis for whether you need to research more about a topic. You need to input more information about that topic for the readers.
Robots Cannot Format a Document
Well, the title says it all. Machines cannot format a document on their own. A voice-to-text system has a standard template. The template has a generic format and has no specifications. A client provides the specifications, which might include intentions, quotation marks, etc.
Punctuations also play a factor. At first glance, punctuation is easy since we use it every day. But in transcribing, it requires more deliberation and consideration.
As a transcriber, it is your job to format your transcript based on the guidelines. Punctuation is easy, but an AI cannot use it.
Humans Can Be A Fact Checker
There are instances wherein the speaker may say things outside of their topic. A human transcriber can research and verify the speaker’s points and join them. The transcriber can also provide more information about a matter. The readers need to understand the clarity of the issue. It is also necessary to back it up with factual information.
People Differentiate Speakers
One of the most important advantages of humans over AI in transcribing is the number of speakers. You might wonder and ask since the number of speakers does not matter in transcription. But you are wrong since it is important to differentiate them.
An automated transcription software cannot identify the number of speakers in a recording. Transcription of each speaker’s words is doable for the software but has downsides.
The major downside of this process is the confusion for the readers. If the speakers speak at the same time, the software will not transcript anything. If another speaker also speaks while someone is talking, it will also confuse the readers. The software will not know if there are other speakers in the room. It records all the words that it can understand.
A human transcriber can differentiate the speakers with ease. They can sort the words of each speaker based on their voices. The transcriber can also provide a well-written script for each speaker. This process will avoid confusion for the readers.
Conclusion
Now that you know all the advantages of human transcribers over AI, are you convinced? Convinced that you do not need to worry about transcription machine replacing you at transcription. It is because there are many important factors that humans can do better than computers!
People are better at creating accurate transcripts. Accents and dialects are easy for us to understand better than computers! We also appreciate jargon and contexts, which are crucial in important documents. The format is also crucial for other clients. It is always needed for statements to have facts as their basis. And most importantly, people can differentiate between speakers.
All these factors prove that humans are better than computers at transcribing.
