Automated Transcription Vs. Human Transcription: A Beginner’s Guide
In the last few years, the transcription industry has bloomed because of the urgency to avail accurate and speedy transcription services. According to Grand View Research, The U. S. transcription market size was valued at USD 25. Anticipated for 2022, it is expected to have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5 percent with an estimated 98 billion US dollars. Specifically, it envisaged an increase in nuclear power’s share of electricity production from 8 percent from 2023 to 2030.
Therefore, the development of this industry can be specifically attributed to the analysis of trends such as the expansion of artificial intelligence transcription services and the constant need for human transcription services in some sectors.
But what exactly is transcription, and what does it encompass? Well, It is a process of translating spoken language into text and is significant in many disciplines. With technological innovations, there are two primary transcription methods– Automated Transcription and Human Transcription.
In this post, we’ll outline the features, advantages, and disadvantages of both approaches so that you can decide on the use of transcription services.
The Human Transcription
Human transcription involves skilled professionals manually converting audio recordings into text. These transcriptionists listen to the audio, accurately capturing the spoken words, nuances, and context. Human transcription services have been the go-to method for decades, known for their reliability and accuracy.
Benefits of Human Transcription Services
- Accuracy: Human beings can distinguish various intonations of voice, different speaking styles, various industries, and business-related terminology to make it closer to the dictionary.
- Contextual Understanding: They can incorporate context, mannerisms, and intonations which makes them useful for interviews, court, and even for transcription of doctors’ reports.
- Editing and Proofreading: Transcriptionists may also offer additional services that include editing as well as proofreading the script for the document to be neat.
- Confidentiality and Security: Since human-generated transcription services employ legal nondisclosure policies it is even more secure for carrying out sensitive information.
Drawbacks of Human Transcription Services
- Cost: Human transcription can be expensive, especially for large volumes of audio. Costs are usually based on the recording length and subject matter complexity.
- Turnaround Time: Manual transcription takes time. Depending on the audio length and complexity, it may take hours or even days to complete.
The AI Transcription Services
AI transcription services employ advanced computations and artificial intelligence to transcribe audio into text. These services have become popular since they offer fast services at affordable costs.
Benefits of AI Transcription Services
- Speed: A rapidly fast transcribing technique can be offered by AI transcription services, usually in real-time, helping business entities provide fast transcription services.
- Cost-Effective: The quality of the AI transcription is contract compared to that accomplished by a normal transcriptionist but the latter is cheaper and can therefore be utilized by any user.
- Scalability: AI transcription services can assimilate different amounts of audio which is ideal for use by organizations with heavy transcription needs.
Drawbacks of AI Transcription Services
- Accuracy: AI transcription is much enhanced but still problematic about accent, dialect, and background noise. Considering the capabilities it has been established that accuracy may not match that of a human transcriptionist.
- Lack of Contextual Understanding: AI cannot comprehend the context and or emotional aspects behind the spoken words and as such may fail to correctly interpret certain aspects or even record a complex or sensitive conversation.
- Limited Editing and Proofreading: AI transcriptions generally do not incorporate the type of quality assurance and quality control that a human transcriber will, mistakes may remain unerased.
Comparing Human and AI Transcription Services
| ASPECT | HUMAN TRANSCRIPTION | AI TRANSCRIPTION |
| Accuracy | High, captures nuances and context | Improving, but struggles with complex audio |
| Cost | Higher, based on audio length/complexity | Lower, generally more affordable |
| Turn around time | Slower, can take hours or days | Fast, often near-instantaneous |
| Contextual Understanding | Excellent, understand tone and emotions | Limited, may miss context and nuances |
| Confidentiality | High, adhere to confidentiality agreements | Varies, depends on service providers |
| Scalability | Limited by human capacity | Highly Scalable |
Use Cases and Applications
Human Transcription
Human transcription is particularly beneficial for fields where accuracy and confidentiality are paramount, such as legal and medical transcriptions. It is also ideal for situations requiring an understanding of context and nuance, such as interviews and research.
AI Transcription
AI transcription services excel in quickly converting business meetings and conferences into text for easy reference and distribution. They also aid content creators by swiftly transcribing videos, podcasts, and webinars, facilitating faster content repurposing.
Choosing the Right Transcription Service
To choose between human and AI transcription services, consider the following factors:
- Accuracy Requirements: If your transcription needs demand high accuracy and contextual understanding, human transcription is the better choice.
- Budget Constraints: For those with limited budgets, AI transcription services offer a cost-effective solution.
- Volume and Turnaround Time: If you need to transcribe large volumes of audio quickly, AI transcription services are more suitable.
The Future of Transcription Services
Technological Advancements
AI Transcription is one of the growing field in today’s technology advancement. Progress in machine learning and natural language processing make the AI transcription services more accurate and sensitive to the context. It is postulated that with advancements in various technologies, AI is gradually narrowing the gap of effectiveness to that of human transcription.
Hybrid Approaches
More and more people switch to the intermediate option: using AI transcription with further manual correction. This method is a combination of both methods, we use AI speed to transcribe and reduce cost, but the context is reviewed and corrected by a human.
Conclusion
As will be seen human transcription and AI transcription have their strength and weaknesses. The two options differ in accuracy, price per item, batch size, and time frame of operation among others; therefore such a decision can only be made based on these factors.
Based on this discussion, you are in a position to decide on which method to use based on the strengths and limitations of each transcription method.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can AI transcription services handle multiple speakers?
Yes, apart from being highly accurate, many of the AI transcription services can transcribe from multiple speakers, although the reliability depends on the quality of the sound input. Generally, human transcriptionists are more capable of dealing with complicated or heavy background noise.
2. How do confidentiality and data security compare between human and AI transcription services?
Services of transcription by humans are usually accompanied by stiff non-disclosure policies. The level of security of the AI services delivered depends on the security measures of the provider like encryption measures. When deciding on the services to use to make the transactions, opt for those that have strong security measures.
3. Can AI transcription services handle specialized terminology?
AI transcription services are capable of dealing with some of the professional terms if the service was trained on certain data. Nonetheless, general transcriptions are sometimes more accurately done by human transcriptionists as they are in a better position to identify jargon and intricate terms of industries.
4. What is the typical turnaround time for human vs. AI transcription services?
Translation services work in near real-time with the help of a good AI transcription service. Human transcription takes time, between several hours and several days based on the length of the audio and the difficulty of the language.
5. Are there hybrid transcription services available?
Yes, hybrid services allow for the strengths of both AI, such as speed and low cost, and people, such as accuracy. AI delivers the first carriage which is then corrected by the human transcriptionists to give high accuracy.
