AI vs. Human Transcription: Weighing the Pros and Cons for Therapists

AI has shown the torch to the “Rome” of the traditional transcription world and this Rome will have to be built anew; the old one eventually just won’t do anymore. That’s not to say some of those smouldering buildings are still not inhabited. But they will go; it is only a matter of time. And a therapist who fiddles like Nero while his Rome burns will soon be left with just a lot of soot where his business used to stand.  But for now, despite the phenomenal strides made by AI transcription services, the traditional method of human transcription is still managing to retain – for now – considerable value, especially in specialized fields like therapy. This article seeks to dissect the pros and cons of both methods, helping therapists make an informed choice for their practice.

AI Transcription: The Digital Dynamo

Pros:

Speed: A transcriber using AI tools can transcribe hours of audio content in mere minutes, offering an unmatched turnaround time.

Cost-effectiveness: Over time, we expect AI transcription services to become economically more efficient than hiring human transcribers, especially for large volumes of data.

Consistency: An AI engine doesn’t get tired (unless someone unplugs it to charge their smart phone). With no fatigue factor creeping into the text, AI can generate transcripts that maintain textual and stylistic integrity and consistency and do not suffer from the variations that might arise with different human transcribers.

Integration with Other Tools: Modern AI transcription platforms often contain add-ons like “sentiment analysis” or integration with other digital tools.

Cons:

Handling Nuances: Despite the advances AI has made in the last decade and a half, it can still struggle while interpreting emotional undertones, overlapping speech, or subtle nuances in therapy sessions. These require a considerably higher level of engagement and replication of the human mind’s “emotional quotient” (EQ) learning curve over a lifetime. Even Commander Data stumbled at the nuances in Captain Picard’s dialogue.

Reason vs Logic: Seeing as reason is essentially a human trait while AI languages are built on Logic, they do not benefit from human biases which, while appearing to be an advantage, is actually a limitation of AI, in that it cannot truly understand what is being said. And this is not limited to “nuances” but extends to how the human brain uses the various biases of the user to convey meaning.  

Data Security: Some AI platforms may not have been designed with sufficiently robust data protection protocols, thus exposing patient information to the risk of breach and/or theft.

Human Transcription: The Touch of Personal Insight

Pros:

Understanding Context: There’s an urban myth that the Germans, while being lovely lovely people, cannot understand an English joke. And did you know why? Because in English, a word or phrase can mean something entirely different within its context than its literal meaning, and relies a lot on voice inflexion and tonal variation. While AI would have no idea what’s going on  human transcribers, if they come from the same cultural linguistic background as the patient or have had sufficient training, can comprehend the context, make sense out of seemingly ambiguous statements, and can deduce emotions just from tone.

Dealing with Low-Quality Audio: The human ear is decidedly not as sharp as an AI “listening” module, but when the human brain steps up to the plate to help “understand” poorly enunciated words out of background noise, AI is just no match. And that reflects in the quality of the transcript.

Adapting to Different Speech Patterns: Diverse accents, speeds, or culturally unique phraseology is still managed better by the human ear than AI. Arguably, its just a matter of teaching the machine all of the different accents and words, but the brain seems to work differently in that it picks pieces of stored information to stitch together “meaning”, as opposed to entire information sets that AI currently relies on.

Ethical Considerations: Human transcribers in the therapy niche appreciate the sensitive nature of the content they’re given to handle, and will by and large treat it with the utmost discretion.

Cons:

Turnaround Time: Well, let’s be real. I need my coffee break. I need to look at my Insta and FB feeds. I have to call the vet. And I have to deal with Todd from HR standing behind my shoulders. The assignment is going to take time; especially if the recording is detailed, and Todd smells of garlic. My friend XRX-B047-D1 is much much quicker, and doesn’t even go out to lunch.

Consistency Variations: Different transcribers might have varying styles or interpretations – like my friends Conchita and Soon-Yi and I do – and we’re all going to write differently. Except my friend XRX-B047-D1; he’s always consistent.

Cost Implications: Not once to my knowledge has my friend XRX-B047-D1 asked for a pay raise or overtime for longer assignments. Now Conchita is really good at transcription, so Todd always pays her more than he pays me. He pays me less, for the easier jobs, but he simply has to accept Conchita’s terms for the “tough ones”.

Which Should Therapists Choose?

So, who should Todd choose? XRX, Conchita, Soon-yi or me? It’s a tough call; between the four of us, we’re quite a spectrum. and Todd’s decisions often depend on the quality he needs, the quantity, and how much garlic he put on the pizza.

For therapists seeking quick transcripts of fairly generalised sessions or for administrative purposes, AI might be the way to go.

However, for sessions that require in-depth analysis, and where appreciation of emotions and nuanced contexts is paramount, therapists are better served engaging human transcription services as they cannot be matched for quality.

Conclusion

As we venture further into the digital age, the line between AI and human capabilities will continue to blur. For therapists, understanding the strengths and limitations of both methods is key. It’s not about choosing one over the other universally but selecting the right tool for the specific task at hand.