Librarians are hosting viral ‘Avoiding AI’ workshops for people who are fed up with Big Tech

TechCrunch · 1 month ago · 3

Librarians across the United States are hosting workshops teaching people how to disable AI features on their devices, responding to widespread frustration with AI tools being automatically enabled by tech companies. Hannah Cyrus's first workshop in Maine drew 70 attendees including a livestream audience, exceeding her typical class size of a dozen; Charlie Bailey's Philadelphia workshop received over 2,000 likes on social media and required a second session due to high demand. The workshops frame digital literacy and user autonomy as central concerns, helping people understand how AI works and giving them practical control over whether to use these technologies.