The Unlikely Frontline of AI Resistance
The children's rug at a South Philadelphia library features cheerful alphabet illustrations—M for moon, Z for zebra. But on a recent evening, the two dozen adults seated in these pint-sized chairs weren't learning their ABCs. They were learning how to disable Apple Intelligence and Google's Gemini, step by step, on their own devices.
 |
| Credit: tommy / Getty Images |
"We didn't ask for AI tools, but suddenly they're everywhere in our lives," Bailey told TechCrunch. "I was inspired by people's frustration with these features being forced onto them."
The concept originated with Hannah Cyrus, a librarian in Bangor, Maine, who developed her own workshop after fielding constant questions about turning off unwanted AI features. When she published a journal article about her approach, dozens of librarians from around the world reached out asking for her materials.
"This has never happened before with anything I've worked on," Cyrus said. "Nobody has ever emailed me asking for my Intro to Computers slides."
What These Workshops Actually Teach
The "Avoiding AI" workshops aren't Luddite rallies. They're practical, hands-on sessions that begin with a straightforward explanation of how consumer AI tools work—and why someone might want to use them or avoid them. Then comes the main event: walking attendees through the settings menus of the most popular platforms and devices.
Bailey projects step-by-step instructions on a screen while attendees follow along on their phones. They learn to disable AI-powered email summarization, turn off predictive text features that feel intrusive, and opt out of AI search results. One attendee shared a tip about appending "&udm=14" to Google searches to hide AI-generated answers—a trick Bailey promptly wrote on a whiteboard.
The turnout has been striking. Cyrus's first workshop drew so much interest that she capped in-person attendance at 30 people, opened a waitlist, and added a Zoom stream. Including the livestream, about 70 people attended each of her first two sessions.
In Philadelphia, the library's Instagram announcement about the "Avoiding AI" event received over 2,000 likes and 220 shares—a staggering figure compared to the few dozen engagements typical for the library's posts.
Beyond Simple Frustration
The people attending these workshops aren't uniformly anti-technology. They're grappling with a more nuanced discomfort. One Philadelphia attendee expressed concern about data centers encroaching on residential areas. Another mentioned environmental impacts but also acknowledged the potential benefits of AI in medical research.
"People aren't rejecting technology wholesale," Cyrus explained. "They're asking for more control, agency, and freedom in how they use it."
This distinction matters. The forced adoption of AI features on personal devices represents a breaking point for many users who have watched tech platforms grow increasingly influential over their digital lives. As Cyrus put it, "The awareness has been growing for a long time that these products and these companies have an outsized influence over us."
Why This Movement Matters
The popularity of these workshops reveals something important about the current state of consumer technology. Major tech companies have been racing to integrate AI into every corner of their ecosystems—from Apple's device-level Intelligence features to Google's Gemini assistant and Microsoft's Copilot tools. These features are often turned on by default, buried in settings menus, or presented as mandatory upgrades rather than optional enhancements.
For many users, the experience feels less like receiving a helpful new tool and more like having something imposed upon them. The "Avoiding AI" workshops tap directly into that sentiment, offering not just technical guidance but also validation that skepticism is reasonable.
Librarians are uniquely positioned to fill this gap. They're trusted community figures with a mandate for information literacy. When patrons ask how to turn off AI features, librarians can provide clear, actionable guidance without corporate interests getting in the way.
"As a librarian, I see this as advancing digital literacy and helping people reclaim their autonomy over whether they want to use AI tools," Bailey said. "That's especially important when it can be so difficult not to use them."
The Bigger Picture
The "Avoiding AI" movement suggests a broader reckoning with how technology gets adopted in daily life. For roughly two decades, consumers largely accepted new features and platforms as they arrived, with little pushback. The all-in-one nature of smartphones meant that when Apple or Google introduced something new, users had limited options except to adapt.
That dynamic appears to be shifting. The workshops represent a grassroots effort to reassert control over personal technology—not by abandoning digital tools entirely, but by being more selective about what's allowed into daily routines.
This isn't about nostalgia for simpler times. It's about recognizing that the convenience of AI features often comes with trade-offs around privacy, autonomy, and cognitive load. When an email app summarises a short message automatically, it solves a problem that didn't exist. When a phone suggests replies to texts, it inserts itself into conversations that weren't asking for help.
What Comes Next
The "Avoiding AI" workshops aren't isolated events—they're part of a growing ecosystem of resources for users who want more digital control. The success of Cyrus's and Bailey's sessions has sparked interest from librarians elsewhere, suggesting this could become a standard part of digital literacy programming.
For the tech companies pushing these features, the workshops present an uncomfortable reality: a significant portion of users are actively seeking ways to opt out. The response isn't a niche concern but a widespread sentiment that libraries are uniquely equipped to address.
It would be misguided to frame this as a battle between progress and tradition. The attendees aren't asking for technology to stop advancing—they're asking for the choice to participate on their own terms. The workshops provide practical knowledge, but they also offer something less tangible: the reassurance that skepticism about tech trends isn't a solitary position.
As Bailey's whiteboard fills with login credentials and search modifications, the message is clear. The alphabet rug beneath his feet might still teach children about zebras and moons, but the adults in the room are learning something far more practical: how to make their devices work for them, rather than the other way around.
Related Developments
The "Avoiding AI" movement aligns with broader concerns about digital privacy and data collection that have been building for years. Tech companies have faced growing scrutiny over everything from advertising tracking to data breaches, and AI integration adds another layer to these ongoing tensions.
Some privacy-focused browsers and search engines have emerged as alternatives for users seeking to reduce their exposure to AI features. Meanwhile, regulatory efforts in Europe and elsewhere have pushed for greater transparency and user consent around algorithmic systems.
The "Avoiding AI" workshops offer more than technical instructions. They point to a fundamental shift in how people relate to their devices, where users are asserting themselves not as passive recipients but as active participants in shaping their digital experiences.
Whether the tech industry takes notice remains to be seen.
