Transcription has grown in popularity since the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) programs which can transcribe captions for movies, shows, and social media channels; however, legal transcription is on an entirely different level and it should stay that way.
There are three main methods of transcription that Eunota Court Reporting has noticed out there in the world: AI (computer generated), non-certified, and certified. You’ll notice if you watch content on Instagram or other media that has AI transcribed captions that it does a mediocre job of getting the main concepts across. Many of these programs are free and are great for increasing accessibility for those who are hearing impaired. Non-certified transcription is an inexpensive option for programs like Netflix that is done by humans and is much more accurate than those AI captions, although there are still errors here and there because speed is the main goal. A certified transcription takes a significant amount of time due to the critical need for accuracy; peoples’ lives and legal decisions depend on their merit. In addition, a certified transcript comes with a signed affidavit which means that the author agrees to defend its accuracy in a court of law. Certified transcription is expensive because of not only the time it takes to produce a reliable product, but also the potential need for subsequent time commitments involved with the file should its words need to be defended.
Options for artificial transcription are being advertised to New Brunswick court reporters, stenographers, and lawyers at rock bottom prices so Eunota decided to give it a try. The result was laughable. There were large portions of testimony missing, spelling errors throughout, strange punctuation, and more. These drafts should not be relied upon to base legal arguments on; they are not even near close to the truth.
We take time to discover witnesses; this takes time, money, focus. Their testimony should be honoured with a certified transcript which has been written, edited, and proofread by highly trained professionals who are willing to go to bat for their work under oath. That’s what you get when you work with Eunota Court Reporting.
To book a court reporter/stenographer for a discovery, meeting, or mediation in Moncton, Bathurst, Miramichi, Tracadie, Caraquet, Riverview, Charlottetown, Summerside, or wherever (we do virtual, too!), please contact us today. Thanks for reading!