Topic
Gen-AI recording and transcription tools
03 July 2024
Guidance around using Gen-AI recording and transcription tools at UC, and which ones offer data protection.
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Gen-AI transcription tools can be very useful and increase our productivity, however, they pose information security and privacy risks in ways that we are not used to thinking about. Imagine a confidential conversation being recorded and everything said turned into text through technologies that reside outside New Zealand’s jurisdiction and not being sufficiently protected.
You must exercise vigilance when conversations, meetings or events are being recorded and/or transcribed. Note that when recording and transcribing audio and video, it is imperative that you gain all participants’ consent, and that consent is recorded.
Students need to follow the UC Lecture Recording policy when considering Gen-AI transcription tools.
Here is a list of transcription tools with data protection that are available to all staff and students at UC:
Live Transcription in Microsoft Teams Meetings: This feature allows you to view live transcriptions during Microsoft Teams meetings, making it easier to follow and record discussions.
Microsoft OneNote: You can transcribe speech directly in OneNote or upload an audio file to get a transcription, which is useful for taking notes during meetings or lectures.
Microsoft OneNote Live Caption: This tool provides live captions and translations in OneNote, enhancing accessibility and inclusion during live presentations and collaborative work.
Microsoft Stream: This video service allows you to upload, share, and automatically transcribe video content, making it easier to search and find specific information within videos.
TextHelp Read&Write: This provides a customisable toolbar which includes multiple learning tools. The text can then be used to create notes from readings, transcripts, and other documents.
No, as per the UC Lecture Recording Policy section 7.4 – Students may only make personal recordings of a lecture with the explicit permission of the staff member and may only use such lecture recordings for the purposes of private study or research. A student may not share, publish or otherwise make a lecture recording available in whole or in part to any other person, website or social media platform.
The exception to this may be where a student has a specific learning support plan through Student Accessibility Services (SAS).
For specific advice around academic recordings please see and follow the UC Lecture Recording Policy .
Otter.ai is not condoned at UC due to the way in which Otter.ai retains and reuses the information which is ingested into its system. Otter.ai uses information to train its Large Learning Model (LLM). Otter.ai’s proprietary methods for de-identification is not known. Their training method potentially exposes recordings and transcriptions widely and may cause breaches to personal information of individuals and Intellectual Property (IP) infringement.
Yes, if you put content into Otter.ai there is the potential to expose personal information, sensitive information and intellectual property. Unless you are utilising Otter.ai through the Student Accessibility Services (SAS) team you must discontinue use.
We understand the importance of transcription services for your study and work. Please check the list of Recording and Transcription tools to see what is endorsed for staff and students to use at UC. Make sure you have signed into your University of Canterbury account to use these tools.
By default, Teams recordings and their transcriptions are saved in a 'Recordings' folder of the OneDrive account of the person who (a) pressed the record button or (b) (coming soon) the organiser of the meeting. They have a default 120-day retention before they are deleted.
If you have not been given a license by the Student Accessibility Services (SAS) team then your license will be removed and your account and data no longer accessible. A member from Digital Services will be in contact to organise a time and support you to download any information you wish to keep.
