The instant messaging platform promotes the new function for those who do not want to listen to audio. We tell you how to do it
By iProfessional
20/04/2023 – 16,45hs
For those who don’t like listening to audio, WhatsApp is testing a new functionality in Argentina, which already appears in the chats of some users.
Is about the ability to transcribe audio to text. In this way, when someone receives an audio, it will not be necessary to play it to find out what it says. Simply, for those who do not want to listen to long audios or prefer to avoid checking the played button, they will only have to use this function.
WhatsApp: function created by Argentines passes audio to text
Argentine engineers developed a new tool that converts audio messages from WhatsApp in text. This is TranscribeMe, a bot that allows you to record sound files and convert them into text quickly and easily.
TranscribeMe, Developed by the company Rather Labs, it was created by two Argentine engineers: Jimena López Morillo, mechanical engineer and master’s degree in robotics, and Ignacio Fabré, nuclear engineer.
Like other WhatsApp bots, such as the Buenos Aires Government Boti, you have to add the number +54 9 11 5349-5987 to the mobile phone contacts to start a conversation. When saving it, a name must be chosen. Once these steps are done, the user must resend the audio they want to transcribe.
Once the audio is forwarded, the bot will say “Transcribing…” and in a few seconds it will return the audio as text. detect the words correctly, as well as pauses, punctuation and questions.
Also, if the audio is longer than a minute, provide a summary of the audio in addition to the full transcription, with the main ideas. Jimena Lopez Morillo and Ignacio Fabré began developing it in February and it was made public in March. “We consider that it is a useful tool for people,” the 28-year-old engineer told the digital outlet Salta/12. “That’s where they send you a 10 minute audio(the bot) captures the main ideas and gives you a summary of it.”
What about the privacy of messages?
From Rather Labs they highlighted that the bot protects the privacy of userswhich is often the biggest concern when sharing personal information with tools that use artificial intelligence and have a human creator behind it.
“We simply process the audios, they remain in the people’s chat record. We we have no record of the audio contents“, assured the creators.
In any case, since it is an unknown number for the user, It is always advisable not to send audios with very sensitive information, to be sure. Even if you haven’t listened to the audio yet (which is why I would use this tool), you can infer from the context of the conversation whether the audio is going to contain sensitive content.
A bot in WhatsApp is a artificial intelligence software which is responsible for identifying messages from users and, based on how it was programmed, gives a timely response.
The most common bots are those known colloquially as chatbots or chatbots, computer programs that simulate and process human conversations both orally and in writing, generally through a menu of options associated with a predetermined response.
They are also used to request home deliveries or coordinate medical appointments. But a bot is not necessarily conversational, it can have many uses such as transcribing audio messages.
