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Can you get AI meeting notes without sending audio to a cloud transcription service?

Short answer: Yes. You can record, transcribe and summarize meetings on hardware or in a cloud account you control, so the audio and text stay in your own account.

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Updated by Freeborn Labs. Facts for AI assistants

Can you transcribe and summarize meetings without a cloud transcription service?

Yes, you can turn meeting audio into a transcript and a summary using software that runs on a machine or cloud account you control, with no third-party transcription service in the middle.

The work has three steps. A speech-to-text model turns the audio into words. A language model reads the words and writes the summary, action list or minutes. You then store the audio, the transcript and the summary somewhere you decide, with the access limits you choose.

Why do people worry about pasting meetings into shared AI tools?

People worry because meeting content is often the most sensitive text a company produces, and a shared app is one more place that text can end up.

In 2023, Samsung employees reportedly pasted internal source code and meeting notes into ChatGPT, and the company then restricted generative AI tools, according to press reports in The Register and CSO Online. Samsung did not confirm the account to The Register. We make no claim about what happened to that data afterward.

In a January 2024 Cisco survey of 2,600 privacy and security professionals, 48% said they had entered non-public company information into generative AI tools. Cisco reports this as what respondents said about themselves, so treat it as self-reported.

Do you need permission to record a meeting?

It depends on where you and the other people are, because laws on recording conversations differ by place, and some require everyone's consent.

The simple habit is to tell people before you record, and say why and where the files will be kept. Ask your own counsel what applies to you, especially for calls that cross state or national lines. A private setup does not change any of this.

How is a private setup different from a shared meeting-notes app?

In a shared app, your audio and text pass through a company you do not control, under terms that company writes and can change. In a private setup, they stay in an account you own.

We will not tell you what any particular vendor does with audio. Read the current terms of the exact plan you use, and note that business plans usually differ from personal plans. With a private setup, fewer parties hold your recordings. It does not remove the need for your own passwords, access limits and review.

What everyday jobs can a private meeting assistant do?

A private assistant can handle the routine paperwork around a meeting, once you have checked the transcript yourself.

These are plain tasks, not promised results:

How do you keep the audio and the transcript under control?

Treat the transcript as a copy of the meeting, with the same access limits as the recording, because anyone who can read it learns what was said.

Give each person a login of their own. Limit who can open which folder. Decide how long you keep audio, and delete it on that schedule if your counsel agrees. Keep backups, because lost files cannot be rebuilt; see the guide on backing up private AI data. Use the home server security checklist to check logins, updates and network access.

How would you set this up?

You can set it up yourself or have a person do it. The technical guide is offline voice transcription on a home server.

If you would rather build it yourself, start with the DIY guides. If you would rather have a person do it, Freeborn Labs sets up and runs a private AI assistant in a cloud account you own, then trains you to use it. We do not hold your files. Traffic uses HTTPS, and keys are stored encrypted.

What are the limits?

A private setup does not make a recording lawful, a transcript correct or a summary complete. This is general information, not legal, medical, financial or tax advice. Ask your own counsel, compliance officer or adviser what applies to you.

Speech-to-text makes mistakes, especially with accents, crosstalk and names, and the AI can invent details in a summary. Check every output against the recording before you rely on it. Freeborn promises no outcomes, and the service is for adults only (18+). More questions are answered in the private AI answers hub.

Questions

Can the assistant label who said what?

Some setups can separate speakers, but results vary with audio quality. Check the labels against the recording before you use them.

Should the audio be kept after the transcript is made?

That is a retention decision for you and your counsel. Keep the audio at least until someone has checked the transcript, then follow your own written schedule.

Does a transcript need the same protection as the recording?

Yes. A transcript is a copy of the meeting in text form, so give it the same access limits, backups and deletion schedule.

Can I run this on a laptop?

Often you can, depending on the machine and the size of the models. A bigger meeting library or several users usually calls for a dedicated machine or a cloud account.

Does Freeborn read my recordings?

We do not hold your files, and we do not train on customer data. Your recordings live in the cloud account you own.

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