The justice system has a tendency to move slowly. This centuries-old problem hearkens back to Shakespearean times, with The Bard himself mentioning “the law’s delay” as one of life’s greatest disappointments in Hamlet’s famed “To be, or not to be” soliloquy.
While things have certainly improved since then, the concept remains just as relevant today. The bureaucratic inefficiency of the justice system is being further compounded by a shortage of court reporters. Due to the trend of increased court workloads, the demand for qualified court reporters has now far surpassed the supply. Since all court proceedings—including hearings, trials, and depositions—must have a reporter present, the most notable effect of the shortage is the delaying of legal processes.
A Technological Solution
While the legal sector is often viewed as traditional when it comes to technology, things are changing. For example, the adoption of digital recording technology has become common in courts across the country. Alaska, Indiana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Utah, and Vermont use audio digital recording in all or most of their general jurisdiction court sessions, while many other states are not far behind. This speaks to the positive shift of tech adoption across the board.
In keeping with this trend, artificial intelligence (AI) technology is quickly emerging as a viable solution to the growing court reporter shortage. When applied to automated speech recognition (ASR) technology, AI has the potential to improve speech-to-text engines to the point that they can transcribe jargon-heavy legal proceedings highly accurately. AI transcription has the potential to help court systems with their chronic backlogs by filling in the gaps where there aren’t enough court reporters present to ensure the speedy delivery of justice.
The benefits of adopting an AI solution are too powerful to ignore. Here are some of the key advantages:
- High accuracy: automatically produced transcripts are reviewed and edited by professional transcribers to ensure 99%+ accuracy
- Adaptive technology: any corrections or enhancements are fed back to the ASR, allowing the technology to constantly improve with time
- Fast turnaround: automation dramatically reduces turnaround time to receive completed transcripts from weeks to days or even hours
- Low cost: automating the transcription process with AI technology substantially decreases operating costs
- Enhanced customization: advanced technology enables customized template, eliminating the need for manual formatting
- More scalability: automating transcription shortens critical processes, allowing organizations to save time and money, and pursue new business opportunities
From Court Reporter to Court Technologist
No matter how exciting the benefits of technology may be, human judgment is irreplaceable. The innovation of AI applied to legal transcription has the potential to pave the way for an updated version of the invaluable profession of court reporting. A skilled individual who is an expert at overseeing the many different court technologies and ensuring that they function for optimal results is sure to be in high demand going forward.
The adoption of emerging AI technology debunks the notion that courts are tech-resistant, and speaks to the positive trend of adoption across the board. While human court reporters must remain an integral part of the process, their teaming up with technology brings benefits for the entire court system. The fusion of artificial and human intelligence represents a new frontier in the pursuit of equal justice under the law that is guaranteed to all Americans.
Verbit at the 2019 ABA TECHSHOW
Interested in learning more about AI-driven legal transcription and proofreading technology? Verbit’s smart transcription solution harnesses the power of artificial and human intelligence to generate the most detailed speech-to-text files, providing over 99% accuracy and the fastest turnaround time in the industry. Stop by booth #309 to learn how organizations can obtain timely and accurate transcripts while cutting costs in half.
The post Combined Artificial and Human Intelligence Can Solve the Court Reporter Shortage appeared first on Law Technology Today.
source http://www.lawtechnologytoday.org/2019/02/how-the-combination-of-artificial-and-human-intelligence-can-solve-the-court-reporter-shortage/
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