Automatically search for images in your own archive, edit podcasts as if you were changing a text in Word or come up with headlines for your article. These are just a few areas of our work where forward-thinking editors, journalists and magazine makers are already deploying artificial intelligence (AI). In 2022 you no longer need a math genius, no programming knowledge and no love for statistics.
By Laurens Vreekamp
‘What is the best way to start with AI in the editorial office?’ It is a question that Marlies van der Wees and I have been getting more and more. That’s why we wrote hey book The Art of AI – a practical introduction to machine learning for media creators. You can experience for yourself today that AI can be surprising, fast and creative. We have put together the following ten tips especially for Bladdokter to help you on your way as a media maker, journalist or editor.
Copy.ai: for during a brainstorm
With software from copy.ai is there a brainstorming partner in your laptop? The tool contains a name generator and an option that allows you to create products based on your entered text. You can even hit a viral ideas creation button. This tool is ideal for anyone with writer’s block.
Pinpoint: for doing research
the tool pin point Google is used by journalists to quickly search stacks of files for names of people, companies or individuals. Pinpoint does not care whether you enter Word documents, research reports, Excel files, emails and interviews (written, in audio or video); you throw everything into a project folder and Google’s AI goes to work for you. The software automatically transcribes spoken texts for you, so that you can instantly search TV shows and podcasts that you upload in Pinpoint. You can even find handwritten texts in photos and illustrations.
Khorma: for determining color schemes
chroma – ‘The AI color tool for designers’ – is a web app that allows you to select fifty colors that appeal to you. Or that match the house style of your media brand. Using machine learning (a subcategory of AI), the tool recognizes the colors you find beautiful or appropriate and intelligently links them together. Khroma offers a fast and refreshing way to discover, search and save personalized color combinations. In addition to images (colors, color areas and gradients), Khroma also generates conceptual names for your colors.
Snowpixel: for visualizing ideas
Are you looking for an illustration? snow pixel is a tool that automatically generates a series of illustrations based on an entered search query. The illustrations you see in this article were made with the assignment: A Magazine goes into the doctor’s office. The title of Bladdokter’s podcast (where the 50th episode is about AI).
Descript: for audio editing
Anyone who ever edits an image or sound in which people speak, knows how time-consuming that can be. Of Descript load your video and audio files and then edit them as a Word file or Google Doc. The program recognizes different speakers and automatically helps you remove ‘ehhh’s’, silences and ‘non-words’ (such as like, you know).
Reverse Image Search: for fact checking
Have you ever used “reverse search” on Google? By entering a photo (instead of a typed search), you’ll find out if the image has been used before and where. That way you can see if photos are taken out of context, as often happens with fake news. Extra tip: You can also search by color with Google’s Image Search. Handy if, for example, you need a photo of a beach with mainly yellow tones or red ones.
LanguageTool: for help with final editing
LanguageTool is a free grammar, style and spelling checker. In 31 languages, including Dutch, the AI-based technology examines the style and tone of texts and provides suggestions directly related to the content.
Headlime: for better headlines
When you’re done with your article and image editing, it’s time to get your campaign materials ready. When it comes to lyrics, helps headlime you on your way. The application was developed by Dutchman Danny Postma who received early permission from the AI company OpenAI to experiment with their advanced language model (for the purists: GPT-3). As a result, Postma’s text generator can handle Dutch well. You can choose to create texts with an academic, professional, childish or friendly tone. You can also set the degree of creativity with which you give the generator (unpredictable) freedom. The free trial lets you experiment with a variety of formats, including blogs, landing pages, article headlines, and Google Ad copy.
Pixelhunter: for the Gram… and other socials
You may recognize the following: you have to make all your images (photos or other creative expressions) suitable for all the different dimensions that each social media platform uses separately. You will soon be using the smart software from for these kinds of time-consuming and boring tasks Pixelhunter, best described as a free automatic image customizer for social content. In addition to the correct dimensions and proportions of images for Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok, thanks to this AI application (which recognizes faces and objects) you no longer get half-cut people – regardless of whether the original is square or rectangular.
Audiograms: to produce social audio and video
Video makes social media posts six times more engaging. That’s what Descript says about their ability to “audiograms‘ to make of your montages. By means of such an audiogram you convert highlights from your podcast into short videos that are already optimized for the socials.
See AI as a creative companion
Another question that Laurens Vreekamp and Marlies van der Wees often get: will AI take over the work of media makers or editors? The answer is no. As you have been able to read and see, there is an AI-powered tool that adds something for every phase of the creative process. One helps you on your way, the other takes work off your hands. However you apply AI, see it as a new collaboration. On the one hand, realize what computers are good at: speed, scale and repetitive actions continue to perform flawlessly. On the other side of the collaboration, make sure that you invest in the most essential, human aspects of your work: empathy, sense of context (details, sensitivities, corporate culture, political reality) and being able to ask the why question. See what you can improve about your own work. How do you argue why that illustration and headline really fit the topic, the current time and the intended audience. Focus even more on using the insights from your target group research for your creative process. Then, in addition to time savings, happy colleagues and a satisfied chef, you also have more time to strengthen the relationship with your reader, listener or viewer.
Try to answer these (and other) questions as humanly as possible and you’ll be ready for AI. Even better. Do you want to know more about the opportunities and possibilities of AI for media makers? Would you like to read about the work of 14 creative AI pioneers in the media, such as Janne Spijkervet, Nadia Piet (Head of creative technology, Dept) and Vincent Koops (RTL Netherlands)? Then read the book The Art of AI – a practical introduction to Machine learning for media makers (also includes explanations of more than 70 AI tools) that will be released on May 25. For more information, see www.artofai.nl