Using LLMs to Create Reusable Content

Tactful AI/LLM use is what I’m hoping for…

Was sitting here looking at a few older emails, and there’s one of a bike shop owner asking if there was a flyer which has a bit about the state’s laws on e-bikes, helmet use, and general cycling law. Yes, there’s what BikeAAA (Bicycle Advocates for Annapolis and Anne Arundel County did, but nothing larger in scope or a bit easier to grasp. So I took a few URLs which note existing law/statutes and BikeAAA’s image, then had Gemini/Nano Banana create something…

…two prompts in and it was solid, not great. Just solid. A bit of manual editing on my part and it’s a solid enough base/template. Am skilled enough to do similar by hand? Yup. Sketching isn’t hard, just not as polished w/o some extra apps not on my devices. This was a speed run w/Gemini to investigate a few things we are evaluating with Bike Maryland internally.

In essence, I got to a really decent “template” in going this route. Not quite shareable. Not quite polished. Just a template which could be branded (by a bike shop or advocacy org). Or even left “dirty draft” such that those bike shops, other advocacy groups, etc. could extend on it (with licensing and instructions in place).

Is it perfect, nope. Does it come across as “slop?” Not to my media discernment. It is draft-level at worst. It is usable, and takes a bit of heavy lifting off the shoulders of board members or board committees. So, there’s probably a place for a workflow where AI/LLMs help elevate the quality of work, or the ability to get to more appropriate decision points faster. And after that, the “humans in the loop” make the rest of the journey. Sounds like gears on a bike if you wanna think of it that way, doesn’t it? Heh… off I go investigating some more.

Oh, and if you were wondering about bike/eBike laws in MD, the attached flyer isn’t a bad place to start.