Key Takeaway
Traditional digital transcription methods have struggled with accuracy, particularly due to historical accents from the 1940s and 50s. The Imperial War Museum (IWM) recognized these limitations and partnered with Google and Capgemini to implement AI transcription technology. This new approach enhances understanding by grasping contextual meanings rather than just individual words. For example, it correctly interprets a sailor’s reference to “ooks” as “hooks,” showcasing its ability to comprehend context that previous methods failed to capture. These advancements aim to improve the accuracy and relevance of transcriptions in historical audio recordings.
Traditional solutions were inadequate, and the historical context exacerbated the issue.
“We’ve been using digital transcription for several years, but its accuracy is significantly lower than we desire,” Nick observes.
“In the 1940s and 50s, accents were more pronounced than they are today, and you only truly recognize this when you listen to some of the audio.”
To address this, the IWM has formed several corporate partnerships that have helped streamline these processes.
Contextual understanding
Collaborating with Google and Capgemini, IWM has implemented AI transcription that captures the full meaning of sentences rather than just individual words.
“We have one interview with a sailor who frequently refers to ‘ooks’, and the transcription rendered it as ‘double-oos’,” Nick explains.
“That’s typically what digital transcription would produce. However, the AI transcription comprehends: this is a sailor on a ship, and when he mentions ‘ooks’, he’s referring to hanging things up, so it must be ‘hooks’. It understands context in a way that previous transcriptions did not.”
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