Libraries Launch Workshops to Evade AI After Users Grow Fatigued by Big Tech

Inside a classroom at a library in South Philadelphia, a young librarian named Charlie Bailey is asking about 20 attendees to take out their mobile phones so he can guide them step-by-step through the process of disabling Apple Intelligence and Gemini. Even though this space is decorated with colorful carpets for children, the adults entering the room have gathered for an activity called the Avoiding AI Workshop.

Bailey noted that the inspiration for organizing this event came from people's frustration over artificial intelligence tools being forced upon them and integrated into their daily lives without their request. During the one-hour session, he starts by explaining an overview of how chatbots and consumer AI tools work, along with guidance on why some people choose to use or reject them. Afterward, he demonstrates the setup steps across various devices and tech platforms via a projector.

This concept originated with Hannah Cyrus, a librarian from the Bangor Public Library in Maine. After she published an article in a journal about hosting her own workshop, dozens of librarians from around the world contacted her asking for her teaching slides—something that had never happened with any of her previous work.