In the rapidly evolving world of digital storytelling and archival work, we are constantly discovering new ways to preserve history. You have likely heard of the recent surge in AI transcription tools designed to convert spoken word into text—platforms like Otter.ai, Rev, and Descript have certainly made their mark. While these tools offer incredible speed,…

The reality of digital transcription hit home for me recently when a client sent over a 30-minute oral history interview that had been put through an automated AI bot. They reached out to me specifically because the transcript was essentially a wall of text—completely lacking speaker identification, and riddled with missing words that completely altered…