We talked in a post not too long ago about the deficiencies of the current state of the art of voice recognition software (VRS) and closed captioning (CC).
This post's title is not strong enough in my opinion. Actually, closed captioning is getting worse with the passage of time. Things I see displayed on my television screen make me want to scream, to pull out what hair I still have, to throw a brick through the set. Fortunately, to date I have managed not to succumb to these urges. My self-control know no bounds.
I will give you three examples from this evening's viewing alone. Two of them are from Donald Trump's remarks at tonight's pre-inaugural candlelight dinner and one is from Sean Hannity's nightly news commentary program.
When Mr. Trump said, "We're going to be so successful. We're going to have so many successes," the closed captioning showed "WE'RE GOING TO BE SO SUCCESSFUL. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE 70 SUCCESSES."
Referring to his plans to issue 200 Executive Orders on his first day in office to undo damage done by the previous administration, Mr. Trump's statement that "By the end of the day a lot of it will be null and void" became "BY THE END OF THE DAY A
LOT OF IT WILL BE NOLAN BOYD."
Sean Hannity said that when he began pointing out President Biden's cognitive decline a couple of years ago, "I was excoriated and had the crap kicked out of me by the whole Biden administration" but the closed captioning put it this way: "I WAS EXCORIATED AND HAD THE KOEPKA ACADEMY BY THE WHOLE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION."
Perhaps I shouldn't be so chagrined. Perhaps I should try to look for the silver lining. Perhaps the universe is sending me prompts to write a novel about Nolan Boyd, a student at the Koepka Academy.
Nah.
I just feel sorry for people who have to rely on closed captioning.
Showing posts with label closed captioning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label closed captioning. Show all posts
Sunday, January 19, 2025
Thursday, September 26, 2024
Closed captioning still needs some work, people
Closed captioning (CC) based on voice recognition software (VRS) has certainly improved a great deal since it was first introduced -- I remember seeing lots of errors in days gone by -- but it ain't quite perfect yet, folks.
Case in point:
Earlier today I saw a report on an all-news channel about today's grand jury indictment of the current mayor of New York City, Eric Adams. As part of the report, the station showed an older video clip of the mayor saying "Make no mistake, when I was elected I promised to lead this city, and I will lead this city." Across tbe bottom of the screen the closed caption said "Make no mistake, when I was elected I promised to leave this city, and I will leave this city."
This is the stuff of which conspiracy theories are made, in my opinion. The people who depend on closed captioning to get their information received, in this case, a message completely opposite from the one the rest of the population heard.
Either voice recognition software needs more work or artificial intelligence (AI) isn't what it is cracked up to be, or perhaps both statements are true.
Am I right or am I wrong? Feel free to agree or disagree in a comment.
Case in point:
Earlier today I saw a report on an all-news channel about today's grand jury indictment of the current mayor of New York City, Eric Adams. As part of the report, the station showed an older video clip of the mayor saying "Make no mistake, when I was elected I promised to lead this city, and I will lead this city." Across tbe bottom of the screen the closed caption said "Make no mistake, when I was elected I promised to leave this city, and I will leave this city."
This is the stuff of which conspiracy theories are made, in my opinion. The people who depend on closed captioning to get their information received, in this case, a message completely opposite from the one the rest of the population heard.
Either voice recognition software needs more work or artificial intelligence (AI) isn't what it is cracked up to be, or perhaps both statements are true.
Am I right or am I wrong? Feel free to agree or disagree in a comment.
Saturday, April 10, 2021
How’s that again?
Today I'm going to tell you something I learned during the pandemic that you may have already known and I probably should have known but didn't have a clue about.
Before I do that, however, I ask that you not criticize (British, criticise) me for having ended a sentence with a preposition. Someone has said that a person who criticizes another person for ending a sentence with a preposition doesn't know what language is all about and doesn't know what prepositions are for. To the stubbornly pedantic, I quote Winston Churchill, who, when he was taken to task for ending a sentence with a preposition, said, "That is the type of errant pedantry up with which I will not put."
What I learned during the pandemic that you may have already known but about which I didn't have a clue is this: I thought that people wore masks to protect themselves from others. Nay, not so (as the angel said to Abou ben Adhem). When a person wears a mask, I learned, the person protected is the other person, not the mask-wearer. It is apparently what you breathe out, not what you breathe in -- what you exhale, not what you inhale -- that the medical community fears.
It is a concept I struggle to understand. It seems counter-intuitive. Maybe I am just thick of skull.
Don't answer that.
Turning from that topic, let us consider closed captioning.
Although it is a great invention and technological advance that helps many, the shortcomings and foibles of closed captioning can be downright amusing. Here are some examples of nearly-but-not-quite-accurate transcriptions that Juanita Hughes, a local historian and retired head of the Woodstock Public Library, saw on Atlanta newscasts and weather reports and shared in a recent newspaper column entitled "Live closed captioning often a source of humor":
In addition to the list above, here are two more that I saw with my own eyes while viewing our church's Sunday morning worship service via live streaming before we received our vaccinations:
Among God's attributes are His omnipotence, His omnipresence, and His ammunitions (omniscience).
Even the benediction was not immune:
The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you, the Lord lift up His continents (countenance) upon you, and give you peace.
P.S. -- Today, April 10th, would have been my mother's 111th birthday. Some days, though I'm a mere 80, I know how 111 would feel. I'm thankful that today is not one of them.
Before I do that, however, I ask that you not criticize (British, criticise) me for having ended a sentence with a preposition. Someone has said that a person who criticizes another person for ending a sentence with a preposition doesn't know what language is all about and doesn't know what prepositions are for. To the stubbornly pedantic, I quote Winston Churchill, who, when he was taken to task for ending a sentence with a preposition, said, "That is the type of errant pedantry up with which I will not put."
What I learned during the pandemic that you may have already known but about which I didn't have a clue is this: I thought that people wore masks to protect themselves from others. Nay, not so (as the angel said to Abou ben Adhem). When a person wears a mask, I learned, the person protected is the other person, not the mask-wearer. It is apparently what you breathe out, not what you breathe in -- what you exhale, not what you inhale -- that the medical community fears.
It is a concept I struggle to understand. It seems counter-intuitive. Maybe I am just thick of skull.
Don't answer that.
Turning from that topic, let us consider closed captioning.
Although it is a great invention and technological advance that helps many, the shortcomings and foibles of closed captioning can be downright amusing. Here are some examples of nearly-but-not-quite-accurate transcriptions that Juanita Hughes, a local historian and retired head of the Woodstock Public Library, saw on Atlanta newscasts and weather reports and shared in a recent newspaper column entitled "Live closed captioning often a source of humor":
- riots and undressed (riots and unrest)
- The Cab County (DeKalb County)
- Calm County (Cobb County)
- Alfredo Highway (Alpharetta Highway)
- police in pursuit of lawbreakers can no longer taste (chase) them
- Wait Green Road (Wade Green Road)
- windshield factors (wind chill factors)
- boaters went to the polls today (voters)
- a surgeon cases (a surge in cases)
- Madonna vaccine (Moderna)
- source of female (source of email)
- Tiger's accident could have caused (cost) him his life
In addition to the list above, here are two more that I saw with my own eyes while viewing our church's Sunday morning worship service via live streaming before we received our vaccinations:
Among God's attributes are His omnipotence, His omnipresence, and His ammunitions (omniscience).
Even the benediction was not immune:
The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you, the Lord lift up His continents (countenance) upon you, and give you peace.
P.S. -- Today, April 10th, would have been my mother's 111th birthday. Some days, though I'm a mere 80, I know how 111 would feel. I'm thankful that today is not one of them.
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