The way you work, live, and play today is very different from five years ago and will be very different five years from now. The impacts of technology on every aspect of our lives has been huge and unpredictable.
No one could have imaged a smartphone that can be your phone, research tool, map provider, source of entertainment, banking tool, and health monitor. So, it’s no surprise that we’re seeing technology make big impacts on legal transcription.
The underlying technology that drives most of what we do online and with our mobile devices, is artificial intelligence (AI). Slowly but surely, AI is changing how we work, communicate, entertain, and relax.
While we are in the early days of AI and legal transcription, it’s still worth digging into AI and looking at how AI is impacting the legal profession and what this can mean for legal transcription.
What Is AI?
AI or artificial intelligence is the universal term used to explain how computer software is capable of completing tasks that require human intelligence and thought. Thanks to the large swaths of data available, software engineers have developed algorithm-based programs that can predict, learn, and track patterns in how people search for data and predict what data they want to see and hear.
Think of the items displayed in your Facebook newsfeed or the viewing options displayed when you log into Netflix – these are all based on your previous viewing, searching, and reading patterns and history.
How is AI Being Used in the Legal Profession?
AI and technology are changing the legal profession in every aspect from research, communication, legal roles, due diligence, contract review, and more.
- Document review and legal research. AI is improving the efficiency with which legal professionals conduct their document review and legal research. Thanks to intelligent data systems and tools, it’s much easier to search and sort through the vast amounts of legal documents and narrow down the search to the most critical information.
- Due diligence support. Background research is a critical task in every law firm, however this task can also be time-consuming and problematic. Now the demands of this research are reduced with algorithm-based AI tools that can help lawyers and legal researchers better find and analyze key cases, facts, outcomes, and issues.
- Contract review. No one likes to spend hours reviewing and comparing contracts. Along with the time required, this process is error-prone. Humans make mistakes, and these mistakes can be prevented with an AI-powered tool that is trained to review contracts and legal documents.
- Legal predictions. Clients want some kind of assurance that they can win their case or dispute. However, providing such a guarantee is very problematic for any law firm. Now, with the support of AI-powered software, law firms can better review and analyze similar legal outcomes and provide clients with a firmer answer and advice.
How will AI Shape Legal Transcription?
When it comes to legal transcription and AI, the jury is still out on how much of an impact this technology will have. We do know that voice-to-text transcription software is becoming much more popular and capable of quickly transcribing text.
However, there are some barriers that currently limit the ability of AI-powered technology to fully replace or replicate professional legal transcriptionists:
- Legal knowledge.
- Multiple speakers.
- Software failure.
- Diversity of language.
- Guaranteed accuracy.
- Proofreading and review.
- Time required to train the software.
- Mumbling, low talkers, stuttering.
So, while yes, there are some very smart and capable AI-powered voice transcription software tools available, this technology is still not a replacement for human legal transcription (the job outlook is still very strong and positive).
This software can be used by college students, journalists, researchers, and others who require a quick transcription but do not depend on guaranteed accuracy and knowledge of legal terminology.
