Evan Lee Salim
In a classroom designed for children, complete with a vibrant alphabet rug where "M is for moon" and "Z is for zebra," approximately two dozen adults gathered not to learn phonics but to navigate the complexities of modern technology. Charlie Bailey, a librarian at a South Philadelphia branch, stood before them, his opening remark laced with ironic humor: “Everybody’s on their phone at my program!” This lighthearted observation set the stage for a serious endeavor: guiding his audience through the precise steps of disabling integrated artificial intelligence features like Apple Intelligence and Gemini from their personal devices. This workshop, aptly named "Avoiding AI," symbolizes a burgeoning grassroots movement led by librarians across the United States, addressing a mounting public frustration with the involuntary integration of AI into daily digital life.
The Genesis of a New Digital Literacy Imperative
The inspiration for these workshops stems from a profound and widespread sentiment among technology users: the feeling of AI tools being increasingly "forced" upon them, often without explicit consent or a clear understanding of their implications. Bailey articulated this to TechCrunch, stating, "I was inspired by the feeling of people’s frustration with AI tools being kind of forced onto them, and feeling like AI tools we didn’t ask for are suddenly everywhere in our lives." This sentiment reflects a growing unease in an era where AI-powered functionalities, ranging from predictive text and automated email summaries to sophisticated image generation and intelligent assistants, are becoming default settings across various platforms and operating systems. The rapid advancements in AI, particularly with the mainstream emergence of large language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, have prompted major tech companies to integrate these capabilities deeply into their consumer offerings, often prioritizing innovation and convenience over user choice and privacy considerations.
The pioneering effort originated with Hannah Cyrus, a librarian at the Bangor Public Library in Maine. Cyrus, a go-to resource for patrons grappling with technological challenges, noticed a distinct shift in the types of questions she received. "More and more, I was getting questions about, ‘How do I turn this [AI] stuff off? Why is it trying to write my emails for me? Why is it trying to summarize my one-sentence email that I can easily read?’" Cyrus recounted to TechCrunch. This deluge of queries, coupled with what she perceived as pervasive media hype surrounding AI products, spurred her to action. She recognized an urgent need to demystify AI for the public, explaining its basic functionalities, its potential benefits, and, crucially, how to disengage from it.
Cyrus meticulously developed a workshop designed to educate and empower. She then documented her methodology and findings in a journal article published in ITAL (Information Technology and Libraries). The response was unprecedented. Librarians from around the globe, seeking to replicate her success and address similar concerns within their communities, contacted her en masse. "This has never happened before with anything I’ve worked on," Cyrus marveled, adding, "Nobody has ever been emailing me like, ‘Can you give me your Intro to Computers slides?’" This overwhelming interest underscored a significant, unmet need for practical, user-centric education on navigating the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
Philadelphia’s Resounding Echo: A Community’s Demand for Control
Charlie Bailey was among the many librarians who reached out to Cyrus, recognizing the parallel anxieties within his South Philadelphia community. He adapted Cyrus’s framework to create his own "Avoiding AI" workshop, and the local response mirrored, if not surpassed, the enthusiasm seen in Maine. The library’s Instagram post announcing the event quickly amassed over 2,000 likes and 220 shares—a stark contrast to the typical few dozen likes received by most other library posts. The initial session garnered so many registrations that Bailey promptly scheduled a second, demonstrating a palpable hunger for digital autonomy. This level of engagement significantly outstripped attendance for conventional technology classes, with Cyrus noting her "Intro to Computers" classes usually drew about a dozen attendees, while her "Avoiding AI" workshops saw registrations capped at 30, a waitlist, and an additional 70 participants via livestream for each of the first two sessions.
The workshops themselves are structured to be both informative and practical. Bailey begins with a foundational overview of how AI chatbots and other consumer AI tools function. He outlines the potential advantages of these products, acknowledging that AI isn’t inherently negative and can offer convenience or enhanced capabilities for those who choose to use it. For instance, AI can streamline tasks, offer personalized recommendations, or assist with complex data analysis. However, he then pivots to the core of the workshop: providing compelling reasons why individuals might opt to abstain. These reasons often revolve around privacy concerns regarding data collection and usage, data security vulnerabilities, algorithmic bias leading to unfair or discriminatory outcomes, and the fundamental desire to maintain human control and decision-making over digital interactions.
Following the theoretical groundwork, Bailey transitions to hands-on instruction. Utilizing a projector, he walks attendees step-by-step through the process of deactivating specific AI features across a range of popular tech platforms and devices. This practical guidance is crucial, as many AI functionalities are deeply embedded and not always intuitive to disable. The focus on Apple Intelligence and Gemini highlights the workshop’s relevance to current technological developments, addressing concerns about the increasing integration of sophisticated AI into widely used operating systems and services, often presented as opt-out rather than opt-in features. For example, Apple Intelligence, announced as a major update, integrates AI across its ecosystem, from writing assistance to image generation, making it a prime target for users seeking to manage their AI exposure.
Bailey views these efforts as a vital extension of the library’s traditional mission. "As a librarian, I think it’s important to see this as advancing digital literacy and helping people reclaim their autonomy over whether they want to use AI tools," he explained. He emphasized the particular urgency of this mission, given the pervasive and often subtle ways AI is integrated into modern technology. "It’s important, especially when it can be so difficult not to use them, and when the design seems to force adoption." This perspective positions libraries as critical bastions of digital freedom, empowering individuals to make informed choices rather than passively accepting technological defaults. Libraries, as trusted, neutral institutions, are uniquely positioned to offer this kind of unbiased, community-focused education.
Beyond Disabling: The Deeper Concerns Driving the Movement
The "Avoiding AI" workshops foster a unique sense of camaraderie among attendees. During Bailey’s session, the room transformed into a forum for shared experiences and collective problem-solving. When Bailey invited participants to share their own tips for navigating the AI-laden digital landscape, one attendee offered a particularly insightful piece of advice: appending "&udm=14" to a Google Search query can filter out AI-generated results, a workaround that suggests a user-driven effort to circumvent default AI integrations in search engines. Bailey promptly scrawled this string of characters onto a whiteboard, alongside the mundane log-in details for the teen Wi-Fi server, symbolizing the co-existence of basic digital access and advanced digital resistance within the library space.
The discussions extend beyond mere technical solutions, delving into the broader societal and ethical implications of widespread AI adoption. Attendees voiced a range of concerns, from the tangible to the philosophical. Johnny, one workshop participant, articulated anxieties about the physical footprint of AI infrastructure: "You have to go through all the trouble to buy a home in today’s world, and two years from now, there could be a data center next to your house." This comment subtly alludes to the massive computational resources and energy consumption required by AI. Training large AI models can consume vast amounts of electricity, contributing to carbon emissions. For instance, a single training run for a sophisticated AI model can generate emissions equivalent to hundreds of thousands of pounds of CO2, a figure that rivals the lifetime emissions of several cars.
Another attendee, Gabrielle, echoed the environmental point: "I keep getting AI shoved down my throat at work, and every time I see it, I think about the environment." Her statement underscores a broader critique of AI’s ecological footprint, from the energy-intensive training of large language models to the cooling systems required for vast data centers. However, Gabrielle also clarified that her skepticism isn’t an outright rejection of all AI, acknowledging its potential for good: "I’m not against AI in terms of medical breakthroughs." This nuanced perspective is common among "AI naysayers," who distinguish between specialized, beneficial applications (like AI in drug discovery, medical diagnostics, or climate modeling) and the widespread, often unsolicited integration of consumer AI that feels intrusive or unnecessary.
Indeed, both Cyrus and Bailey emphasize that the movement is not about rejecting technology wholesale. Cyrus herself points to the utility of optical character recognition (OCR) for digitizing old documents in libraries, a clear example of beneficial AI that enhances accessibility and preservation efforts. Instead, the core of the "anti-AI movement," as framed by these librarians and their patrons, is a demand for greater control, agency, and freedom in how individuals interact with technology. It’s a pushback against what Cyrus describes as "forced adoption." She posited that this forced integration might be "the straw that’s breaking the camel’s back in some ways," catalyzing a broader awareness of how tech companies exert "outsized influence" over users, often dictating how products are used rather than allowing genuine user choice.
The Broader Landscape of AI Adoption and User Resistance
The rapid proliferation of consumer AI tools, exemplified by the mainstream success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, has indeed been a defining characteristic of the tech industry in recent years. Companies are in a fierce race to integrate AI into every facet of their products, from search engines and operating systems to productivity suites and creative applications. This aggressive integration is driven by several factors: the potential for significant competitive advantage, the narrative of innovation, and the desire to create more "intelligent" and personalized user experiences. However, this corporate push often overlooks or downplays potential downsides, such as privacy erosion, the spread of misinformation, and the environmental cost.
For instance, Apple Intelligence, announced as a suite of AI features deeply integrated into iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, promises to personalize and simplify user interactions through on-device processing and cloud-based models. While framed as a privacy-preserving approach due to on-device capabilities, the sheer depth of integration raises questions about data flow and user control, particularly concerning the "Private Cloud Compute" system which sends some queries to Apple’s servers. Similarly, Google’s Gemini, and its integration across Google products, aims to make information more accessible and interactions more intuitive, but also collects vast amounts of user data to train and refine its models, raising concerns about surveillance capitalism. The default-on nature of many of these features presents a dilemma for users who may not fully understand the implications or simply prefer to opt out.
The concerns raised in these workshops are not isolated. Public discourse around AI has increasingly highlighted issues such as algorithmic bias, where AI systems perpetuate or amplify societal prejudices due to biased training data; data privacy, particularly concerning how personal information is collected, used, and secured by AI models; and the ‘black box’ problem, where the decision-making processes of complex AI algorithms are opaque and difficult to interpret. The environmental impact, as pointed out by attendees, is also gaining traction, with studies indicating that training large AI models can consume as much energy as multiple car lifetimes in carbon emissions, prompting calls for more sustainable AI development.
Digital Literacy in the Age of AI: Libraries as Essential Hubs
The overwhelming demand for "Avoiding AI" workshops underscores the evolving and critical role of public libraries in the 21st century. Traditionally, libraries have served as bastions of information access and literacy, helping communities navigate new forms of media and technology, from printed books to the internet. In the era of artificial intelligence, their mission has expanded to encompass "digital autonomy" and critical thinking about technology.
By providing free, accessible, and unbiased education on AI, librarians like Cyrus and Bailey are filling a crucial gap. They offer a counterbalance to the often one-sided narratives from tech companies, empowering individuals with the knowledge and practical skills to make informed decisions about their digital lives. This is not merely about turning off features; it’s about fostering a deeper understanding of how technology works, what data is being collected, and the implications of consent in an increasingly automated world. A 2023 Pew Research Center study, for example, found that a significant portion of Americans are more concerned than excited about the increasing use of AI, highlighting a public desire for more information and control.
The workshops serve as a testament to the idea that digital literacy extends beyond simply knowing how to use technology; it now crucially includes understanding how to control it, critique it, and, if necessary, opt out of its more intrusive aspects. In an age where digital engagement is often a prerequisite for participation in society, ensuring that individuals retain agency over their technological interactions is paramount to fostering an equitable and informed citizenry. This aligns with the broader movement for digital rights, which advocates for greater transparency, accountability, and user control in the digital realm.
Looking Ahead: Implications for Technology, Education, and User Rights
The success of the "Avoiding AI" workshops in Maine and Philadelphia is likely a harbinger of a broader trend. As AI becomes even more deeply embedded in consumer products, the demand for digital literacy education focused on user control is expected to grow. This movement highlights several key implications:
- Increased Pressure on Tech Companies: The groundswell of user demand for control could eventually put pressure on tech companies to offer more transparent and easily accessible opt-out mechanisms for AI features, rather than defaulting to forced adoption. It may also encourage more ethical design practices that prioritize user autonomy and informed consent, moving away from "dark patterns" that nudge users towards AI adoption.
- Expanded Role for Libraries and Educators: Libraries, community centers, and educational institutions will likely continue to play a vital role in providing critical digital literacy skills. This includes not just teaching people how to use new technologies, but also how to critically evaluate them, understand their societal impacts, and manage their personal digital footprint. This expanded role could lead to more standardized curricula for AI literacy in public education.
- Emergence of a "Digital Bill of Rights" Mentality: The sentiment expressed by workshop attendees reflects a growing desire for users to have fundamental rights in the digital realm, including the right to privacy, the right to data ownership, and the right to choose how technology interacts with their lives. This could fuel advocacy for stronger consumer protections and regulations around AI, potentially leading to legislative efforts to enshrine these rights.
- A More Nuanced Public Dialogue on AI: The workshops encourage a nuanced perspective on AI, acknowledging its potential benefits while remaining vigilant about its drawbacks. This helps move the public conversation beyond simplistic narratives of either utopian promise or dystopian threat, towards a more balanced and informed understanding that recognizes both the transformative power and the inherent risks of AI.
In essence, the "Avoiding AI" workshops represent a quiet revolution in digital literacy. They are not merely technical tutorials but forums for democratic engagement with technology, empowering individuals to reclaim their agency in a world increasingly shaped by algorithms. As Charlie Bailey observed, it "felt really good to see how many people share this feeling," underscoring that the desire for digital autonomy is not an fringe concern, but a mainstream imperative. The humble public library, once a repository of books, is now a crucial arena for navigating the future of human-AI interaction.
