Please allow us to add transcription to the searchable text or add other local transcription models (Whisper, Parakeet).
Problem:
I want to transcribe locally using Whisper or Parakeet, but only Apple models are available. The quality of Apple’s LLM does not suit me.
I wrote an Apple Script and transcribe audio locally using Parakeet.
I can save the transcription only in an annotation, comment, or any text file linked to the media file by a link. I can’t add it to the Searchable Text.
If the transcription is not added to the Searchable Text, then automatic tag assignment, sammari and other AI features do not work, since the annotation is not considered equal to the parent file.
Agree. Apple’s built-in transcription API is very convenient but not great quality. Would love to use Voxtral locally for private transcription instead. Just as I can use Ollama for chat locally (thank you!), I’d like to continue to expand the services I can use locally.
I would also love to see the ability to add additional models to text transcription, or just AI models in general. Parakeet does such a great job at local transcription, and it’s too bad I can’t use it in DEVONthink. Similarly, when new chat models come out it would be nice to be able to manually configure them instead of having to wait for a DT upgrade to access them.
This has already been discussed. Just because models exist, that doesn’t make them viable or “safe” to use in DEVONthink. We have more concerns than trying to appear to be at the bleeding edge of AI, with data privacy and safety being our main focus. Development has to assess these things as their time and resources allow.
Also, we already implemented the OpenAI (Compatible) option that expands the possibilities for using other AI providers.
It’s our data, shouldn’t be on the users to decide what meets our privacy and safety requirements? Those who rely on DT to make that judgment call are probably just picking an existing model from your available options anyway. I would only expect more advanced users to be messing around with this anyway.
My guess is that most of us don’t know what will happen when we connect different services to our data. Without carefully thinking about risks etc the DT team might leave DEVONthink open for serious security problems that most of us doesn’t realize are there.