The future is here
In 2025, China is experiencing an explosive growth of AI large models. Artificial intelligence is already part of everyone’s daily life, changing the way we live and work. For example, in hotels, service robots are now widely used to deliver food and items. In transportation, self-driving systems are reshaping the taxi industry. In Wuhan, for instance, a company called Luobo Kuaipao—known in English as Apollo Go, but literally meaning “Robots run fast”—is running driverless taxis. With lower prices, it is already competing strongly with traditional taxi companies.
Changing the shorthand industry
In text processing, AI tools—such as intelligent writing (grammar correction, style optimisation and automated draft generation) and speech-to-text transcription (with real-time conversion and multi-language support)—are transforming the work of clerks, secretaries, and other office staff. This includes administrative assistants, data-entry operators and report writers. These tools reduce manual tasks such as document proofreading and note-taking, while improving efficiency and allowing staff to focus on analytical or creative work. This brings challenges to the shorthand industry, both in technology and in training new talent. In technology, challenges include adapting to AI-driven tools and data security protocols. In training new talent, there are challenges in developing skills such as critical thinking and human-AI collaboration, which are essential to complement AI capabilities.
To investigate the impact of AI-driven transcription tools on traditional language services, we conducted a cross-industry survey between 2023 and 2024. The research insights are synthesised from exchanges with industry professionals in our regular business network, primarily covering the administrative personnel of small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as production practitioners in the film and television industry across China. Our research shows that demand for traditional shorthand services in small and medium-sized business meetings has dropped by 90% compared to five years ago. The same is true for subtitling jobs in film and TV. These simple tasks can now be done by AI speech recognition at much lower cost, with 98% accuracy in mainstream scenarios such as conference minutes and video subtitling.
For example, tools such as the DingTalk A1 recorder and TingNao AI support real-time multi-person speech-to-text, automatic summary generation and key point marking, thus meeting basic customer needs for clarity and efficiency. Live captioning is also well-implemented: products like the Luka AI subtitler offer 99-language real-time translation with background noise filtering, making it suitable for both daily office and cross-border video creation.
However, we also see significant growth in some areas: court records, government and high-level meetings, financial roadshows, cross-border international conferences and online education. According to comprehensive industry public data, research results and client feedback, demand in these sectors has increased by 15% to 25% annually over the past three years. These situations are more complex: often with many speakers, multiple languages or dialects, improvised speech, or very high requirements for accuracy and confidentiality. Professionals can better cope with these challenges than AI by leveraging contextual judgment, domain expertise and real-time adaptability. For example, in confidentiality-sensitive scenarios such as legal or government meetings, human professionals ensure strict data-handling compliance; in accuracy-critical tasks such as financial roadshows, their ability to interpret nuanced terminology reduces errors by up to 30% compared to AI alone.
Additionally, when processing improvised speech (as in unscripted conference discussions), humans excel at capturing colloquialisms and emotional undertones that AI may misinterpret. So, while simple shorthand jobs are disappearing, more complex, high-skill shorthand jobs are growing. This shows that professional shorthand workers still have clear advantages compared with AI solutions. These advances are especially clear in accuracy, speed, semantic understanding and confidentiality.
Building the future of shorthand in China
Let me briefly share what we in Yawei Steno, the Professional Committee on Stenography of the Chinese Information Processing Society of China, the Beijing Stenography Association and Beijing Sulu Technology Co. Ltd are doing in China:
First, at the association level, we organized many discussions with experts, companies, and practitioners, and reported to the Ministry of Human Resources. A new national standard for shorthand professionals is now being drafted by the Beijing Stenography Association and experts from various industries and fields, institutions of higher learning, frontline enterprises and stenographers, across China. It will include tests on new AI tools and new certification levels for new job roles. The new standards will fully consider the new knowledge and skills that need to be mastered. The specific job positions depend on the actual employers and application scenarios. Possible examples include:
- AI-assisted stenographer: a transcription professional who uses artificial intelligence technology for real-time speech-to-text conversion, proofreading and multilingual translation
- Meeting record analyst: a specialist who, based on transcription, produces a structured organisation of meeting content, keyword extraction and data visualization
- Judicial stenography specialist: an advanced transcription role focusing on court hearings, arbitrations, et cetera, requiring mastery of legal terminology and confidentiality regulations
The work in making the new national standard has officially started and is expected to be completed in early 2026. The standard will describe the relevant positions and personnel in the stenography industry, for example in courts, government departments and large enterprise groups, and for conference stenography practitioners.
Secondly, in technology: Yawei, the leading company in Chinese shorthand, is developing AI-based tools and remote service platforms to support shorthand workers, helping them reduce costs and improve efficiency. These tools utilise artificial intelligence large-model technology to develop intelligent tools for stenographers, enhancing their efficiency and accuracy in basic tasks. They also build a remote service platform to expand new application scenarios in the stenography industry, helping practitioners to strengthen competitiveness in the basic application market and achieve cost reduction and efficiency improvement.
Thirdly, in talent training: Yawei has launched an online education platform, now connected to more than 100 schools and universities in China. Soon, a national training platform for court clerks will also be launched. Competitions are also encouraging learning. In 2013, the shorthand competition for court records became a national contest in China. The competition includes such segments as proofreading, sight typing, audio typing, official document production and document abstracting. The winners of the Vocational College Skills Competition can even enter, without exams, into domestic universities which are equivalent to undergraduate-level institutions and universities in Europe, as they offer bachelor’s degree programmes and are of a higher academic level than vocational colleges. In 2024, Chinese shorthand was added to the BRICS Skills Competition, and students from South Korea joined a friendship contest. We warmly welcome students from other countries than China and South Korea to join as well.
Conclusion
AI solutions are introducing rapid changes to the shorthand industry. The shorthand professions are not vanishing, but they are transforming. The Chinese shorthand association and the shorthand companies are making big developments to embrace the change.
Dear colleagues, we sincerely hope for more exchanges and co-operation in, for example, technology, business and talent training. On behalf of China’s shorthand industry association, I warmly invite you to come to China—and, as a representative of shorthand enterprises, I can also promise that we are ready to sponsor visiting students for all local expenses, except travel costs.
Ji Tang is a leading authority on Chinese stenography. He has led the development of national vocational standards for stenography and authored key textbooks in the field. His work bridges academic research and practical training, advancing the professionalisation of stenography in China.
