{"id":136669,"date":"2026-07-25T16:51:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T16:51:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2026\/07\/25\/librarians-are-hosting-viral-avoiding-ai-workshops-for-people-who-are-fed-up-with-big-tech\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T16:52:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T16:52:07","slug":"librarians-are-hosting-viral-avoiding-ai-workshops-for-people-who-are-fed-up-with-big-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2026\/07\/25\/librarians-are-hosting-viral-avoiding-ai-workshops-for-people-who-are-fed-up-with-big-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"Librarians are hosting viral ‘Avoiding AI’ workshops for people who are fed up with Big Tech"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cEveryone\u2019s on their telephone at my program!\u201d joked Charlie Bailey, a librarian in South Philadelphia. He\u2019s simply requested his viewers to tug out their telephones in order that he can stroll them by means of the steps of disabling Apple Intelligence and Gemini.<\/p>\n

Bailey stands on the entrance of a library classroom that\u2019s outfitted for kids \u2013 the focus is the colourful rug he\u2019s standing on, which reminds us that M is for \u201cmoon\u201d and Z is for \u201czebra.\u201d However the 20-odd adults within the room aren\u2019t right here to study in regards to the alphabet. They\u2019re at a workshop known as Avoiding AI, which, on this context doesn’t stand for \u201capple\u201d and \u201cigloo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to be impressed by the sensation of individuals\u2019s frustration with AI instruments being type of pressured onto them, and feeling like AI instruments we didn\u2019t ask for are immediately all over the place in our lives,\u201d Bailey advised TechCrunch.<\/p>\n

Bailey begins the hour-long workshop with an outline of how AI chatbots and different client AI instruments work, explaining why folks may need to use these merchandise, and why they could decide to abstain. Then, he walks by means of the entire hottest tech platforms and units, exhibiting step-by-step directions on the projector to information folks by means of turning off particular options.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a librarian, I believe it\u2019s necessary to see this as advancing digital literacy and serving to folks reclaim their autonomy over whether or not they need to use AI instruments,\u201d Bailey mentioned. \u201cIt\u2019s necessary, particularly when it may be so troublesome to not use them, and when the design appears to pressure adoption.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Charlie Bailey hosts an \u201cAvoiding AI\u201d workshop<\/span>Picture Credit:<\/strong>TechCrunch<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bailey received the concept for the Avoiding AI workshop from Hannah Cyrus, a librarian in Maine. He was one among dozens of librarians from around the globe who contacted Cyrus after she revealed a journal article<\/a> about growing her personal workshop.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has by no means occurred earlier than with something I\u2019ve labored on,\u201d Cyrus advised TechCrunch. \u201cNo person has ever been emailing me like, \u2018Are you able to give me your Intro to Computer systems slides?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

On the Bangor Public Library, patrons flip to Cyrus once they need assistance with something involving expertise.<\/p>\n

\u201cIncreasingly more, I used to be getting questions on, \u2018How do I flip this [AI] stuff off? Why is it attempting to put in writing my emails for me? Why is it attempting to summarize my one-sentence electronic mail that I can simply learn?\u2019\u201d Cyrus mentioned. \u201cI simply determined that with a lot media hype on the market about AI merchandise, it might be a superb alternative to show folks in regards to the fundamentals of what’s taking place once you\u2019re utilizing this expertise, after which stepping into how you can flip it off for those who don\u2019t need to use it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Often, Cyrus\u2019 courses like Intro to Computer systems get a couple of dozen attendees. However so many individuals expressed curiosity in her first Avoiding AI workshop that she needed to reduce off registration at 30 folks, open a waitlist, and share the workshop on Zoom. Together with the livestream, about 70 folks attended every of Cyrus\u2019 first two workshops.<\/p>\n

When Bailey adopted Cyrus\u2019 result in host a workshop in Philadelphia, the reception was equally unprecedented. The library\u2019s Instagram post<\/a> in regards to the \u201cAvoiding AI\u201d occasion received over 2,000 likes and 220 shares, whereas a lot of the library\u2019s posts don\u2019t get quite a lot of dozen likes. He scheduled a second program as a result of the primary received too many registrations.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAs an data skilled, it feels good to see folks skeptical of AI,\u201d Bailey mentioned. \u201cIt felt actually good to see how many individuals share this sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a way of camaraderie among the many room of strangers throughout the workshop. When Bailey invitations attendees to share their very own ideas, one individual explains that once you append \u201c&udm=14\u201d to a Google Search, it can conceal AI outcomes. Bailey writes the string of characters down on a whiteboard subsequent to the log-in credentials for the teenager Wi-Fi server.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must undergo all the difficulty to purchase a house in right this moment\u2019s world, and two years from now, there might be an information heart subsequent to your own home,\u201d one workshop attendee named Johnny says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI maintain getting AI shoved down my throat at work, and each time I see it, I take into consideration the atmosphere,\u201d one other attendee named Gabrielle provides. However she\u2019s additionally not writing off AI as a expertise altogether. \u201cI\u2019m not in opposition to AI when it comes to medical breakthroughs.\u201d<\/p>\n

AI naysayers know that this expertise is way broader than simply chatbots and deepfake apps. Cyrus talked about how helpful optical character recognition is for scanning outdated paperwork on the library. However for her and the individuals who go to her workshops, the anti-AI motion isn\u2019t about rejecting expertise altogether a lot as it’s about advocating for extra management, company, and freedom in how folks use expertise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe the pressured adoption of AI on folks\u2019s units is likely to be the straw that\u2019s breaking the camel\u2019s again in some methods,\u201d she mentioned. \u201cThe notice has been rising for a very long time that these merchandise and these corporations that make them have an outsized affect over us, and that we\u2019re not likely utilizing these merchandise in the way in which that we want to.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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