As much as artificial intelligence technologies dominate within the modern transcription space, humans and machines have complementary skills. To achieve the greatest accuracy and most articulate results, they must work together.
Within the context of AI transcription, and any subsequent speech analytics, the human in the loop approach allows machines and humans to leverage and maximize their strengths to produce the most accurate and insightful results.
Anyone looking to learn more about how to generate and leverage nuanced and accurate transcriptions, whether for speech to text or text to speech, can benefit from learning more about this important element of enhanced machine learning protocol.
In this article, we will be exploring the meaning and implications of human in the loop within the context of AI transcription and speech analytics.
What is Human In The Loop?
In machine learning, human in the loop (HITL) is the practice of blending human and machine intelligence to create successful models and algorithms. Essentially, it represented a blending of supervised machine learning and active learning. When creating a machine learning model, HITL sees humans actively involved in the training and testing stage to continuously leverage better algorithm results.
With a human in the loop approach, organizations can mitigate the risks and possible inconsistencies of a purely AI-dependent model. Although much is said about AI as a threat to employment, HITL ushers in significant opportunities here. For example, in India, the data-labelling industry is booming and is generating very positive impressions. Further, the global market size for data annotation reached an impressive $628.5 million last year.
With AI hailed as a gold standard and the future of so many important practices and procedures, it’s interesting to note the growing leverage of HITL. Have we reached a tipping point when it comes to putting total faith in Machine Learning? Recent EU legislation, demanding more regulation as AI seeps into ever-increasing areas of modern life, would suggest this may be the case.
One of the main reasons behind the increased relevance of human in the loop is surely the concern around purely AI-driven practices. For all its advancement, AI is fallible, and imperfect, and organizations have experienced the negative implications and prejudiced decision making that unchecked AI has the potential to create over time.
With the European Union becoming one of the first legislative bodies to regulate artificial intelligence, we can expect other countries to follow the same path.
How Does Human In The Loop Fit Into AI Transcription And Speech Analytics?
When we consider its potential to enhance and perfect outcomes otherwise driven by AI, it is easy to see the benefits that human in the loop brings to the transcription process. Let’s explore the process of HITL-enhanced AI transcription (as used by Bhasa.)
1. AI speech to text
Automated intelligent transcription is the first step in the transcription process. This practice makes transcription more cost-effective for companies and gets most of the job done. Although it is not perfect, is highly accurate and saves organizations a lot of time and resources.
2. Human in the loop
Human in the loop (HITL) comes in to polish and perfect the AI transcription. By adding a human touch at this stage, businesses have the opportunity to add correction and context that AI cannot comprehend, or where AI is yet to become dependable.
3. Finalized text
At the final stage of the transcription, humans and machines collaboratively reach the greatest degree of accuracy and trustworthiness and deliver an outstanding result.
What Are The Advantages Of Human In The Loop Within AI Transcription?
Let’s dig deeper into the reasons why businesses are increasingly turning towards HITL-aided transcription, and what makes this approach so valuable.
- Greater Total Accuracy
Purely AI transcription cannot attain the highest levels of accuracy in isolation. The efficiency of machine learning reduces a lot of the human workload and, this way, humans can be more detail-oriented towards the transcription and achieve a higher level of precision.
- Scalability and Cost Effectiveness
As mentioned, man provides inference, nuance and context whilst machine gives scalability and cost-effectiveness. It is the best of both worlds, as purely human translation can be slow and expensive and purely AI can lack final finesse.
- Risk Reduction
HITL provides a safety net, especially important for highly sensitive or regulated transcriptions. Further, it can be the solution to comply with upcoming regulations, such as the EU mentioned above.
Even though the benefits of human in the loop are considerable in certain circumstances, you need to ask yourself if HITL is required for your particular use case. It is important to remember that HITL can be costly, so it won’t always be the best option for non-crucial functions or those needing more approximate interferences.
What Considerations Should Be Made When Working With A Human In The Loop AI Transcription Service?
To ensure a functional human in the loop implementation, you must create effective workflows and HITL-aided AI transcription procedures. Let’s explore the considerations you should keep in mind when building out HITL workflows.
- Working with a highly accurate AI model
Ensure that your workflow is built on the strongest foundations. Transcriptions that enter your workflow should be as accurate as possible – making corrections is expensive, and should be adding a final “polish” as opposed to reworking a piece from the ground up. Remember: bad AI is worse than no AI.
- Subject Matter Experts for Human In The Loop
When leveraging AI transcription, human input changes from execution to the identification of mistakes. This means that working with subject matter experts, who are more likely to pick up on deviations and contextual errors, will drastically improve your final outcomes.
- Workflow management automation
Any functional workflow needs a solid organizational structure, and HITL is no exception. You need to ensure that your internal processes are efficient and optimized to keep high standards of productivity and visibility. It also saves time and reduces errors. Bhasa offers structural support for organizations, facilitating files and transcription management and organization.
HITL: AI Transcription’s Secret Weapon?
Whilst the power of artificial intelligence is impacting almost every industry that we know, including transcription, organizations still require human intelligence to deliver the best possible results.
Cutting-edge businesses know the impact human contribution can have in enhancing their transcription performance. The truth is, AI alone is no longer lauded as the gold standard. The real innovation lies in the smart use of technology and how to combine this with the ultimate onboard computer – the human brain.