Streamlining Media File Conversion to DDI-Lifecycle "Other Material" Using AI

Social research increasingly includes media formats like audio and video, which are often poorly documented and inaccessible. While archives handle traditional survey data well, media files are mostly limited to minimally annotated zip files due to the complexity of proper documentation. Recent advancements in AI, including the Whisper model, along with the use of Pydantic models and structured output, now allow for rapid metadata extraction, transcription, and reliable, structured summaries. This presentation demonstrates how AI can streamline the documentation and conversion of media files into the DDI-Lifecycle "Other Material" format, significantly improving accessibility and usability for researchers and data archives.