Librarians Launch Trending Workshops to Help the Overwhelmed Navigate Life Beyond AI and Big Tech
“Everyone seems to be glued to their phones in my workshops!” humorously remarked Charlie Bailey, a librarian located in South Philadelphia. He just encouraged his audience to take out their devices so he could guide them through the process of disabling Apple Intelligence and Gemini features.
Bailey is positioned at the front of a library space designed for children, marked notably by a colorful rug that illustrates letters like M for “moon” and Z for “zebra.” However, the group of around 20 adults assembled here isn’t interested in learning their ABCs; they are attending a session titled Avoiding AI, which, in this case, stands for something quite different.
“The impetus behind this workshop was witnessing people’s annoyance with AI tools that feel imposed upon them. It’s like we never asked for these AI tools, yet they are suddenly pervasive in our daily lives,” Bailey explained to TechCrunch.
His hour-long session begins with a discussion about the workings of AI chatbots and various consumer AI applications, exploring reasons individuals may choose to engage with these technologies or, conversely, to avoid them. Next, he meticulously walks participants through popular tech platforms and devices, using a projector to display detailed instructions for disabling specific features.
“As a librarian, I believe enhancing digital literacy is crucial and empowering people to decide if they want to use AI tools is essential. It’s vital, especially now, when resisting their usage can prove challenging due to their design that often pushes for acceptance,” Bailey remarked.
The concept for the Avoiding AI workshop emerged from Hannah Cyrus, a librarian based in Maine. Bailey, along with many other librarians globally, reached out to her after she published an article describing her workshop development journey.
“I’ve never experienced something like this with my previous projects,” Cyrus noted. “It’s unprecedented to receive emails asking for my Intro to Computers presentation.”
At the Bangor Public Library, patrons often seek Cyrus’s assistance for tech-related inquiries.
“Increasingly, I received questions like, ‘How do I disable this AI feature? Why does it want to write my emails for me? Why must it summarize my perfectly understandable one-sentence email?'” Cyrus explained. “With the whirlwind of media surrounding AI products, I sensed there was an opportunity to inform people about how this technology operates and how to disable it if they choose not to engage with it.”
Typically, classes like Intro to Computers attract around a dozen participants. However, interest for her first Avoiding AI workshop was so high that she had to limit registrations to 30 and create a waiting list, also offering the session via Zoom. Overall, about 70 individuals joined the first two workshops, including online attendees.
When Bailey decided to host a similar workshop in Philadelphia, the response was unexpectedly enthusiastic. A social media post announcing the event garnered over 2,000 likes and 220 shares, a stark contrast to the usual engagement on the library’s posts. Due to overwhelming registration, he scheduled a follow-up program.
“As someone who works with information, it’s encouraging to witness skepticism towards AI,” Bailey shared. “It was gratifying to see that so many people resonate with these feelings.”
A spirit of camaraderie filled the room during the workshop. When attendees were invited to share tips, one participant mentioned that appending “&udm=14” to a Google Search would suppress AI-generated results. Bailey promptly noted this tip on a whiteboard beside login details for the teen Wi-Fi network.
One workshop goer, Johnny, stated, “It takes a lot to secure a home these days, only to find that a data center might be built next door in a couple of years.”
Another participant, Gabrielle, echoed similar frustrations, saying, “I keep encountering AI at my job, and I can’t help but think about its environmental impact.” However, she clarified that she doesn’t reject AI entirely. “I see value in its applications for medical advancements.”
Critics of AI recognize that its scope extends far beyond simple chatbots and deepfake technology. Cyrus pointed out the benefits of optical character recognition for archiving old documents in libraries. Nevertheless, for her and attendees at her workshops, the movement against AI isn’t a blanket rejection of technology but rather a call for heightened control, autonomy, and choice in technological use.
“The obligatory imposition of AI on our devices might finally be the breaking point for many,” she reflected. “For a while, awareness has been building about how these products and their creators wield excessive influence in our lives, and it’s become evident that we often aren’t utilizing these tools as we wish.”
