Librarians Hold Viral 'How to Avoid AI' Workshops for Those Tired of Big Tech

Charlie Bailey, a librarian from South Philadelphia, leads an hour-long workshop titled "How to Avoid AI," demonstrating how to disable Apple Intelligence and Gemini on devices. He got the idea from Hannah Cyrus, a librarian in Maine, who first developed the workshop and published an article about it. Her first sessions saw 30 people sign up and another 70 watched the livestream—unprecedented interest compared to regular courses. Bailey posted an announcement on Instagram, which garnered over 2,000 likes (normally the library gets a few dozen). Participants share tips, such as how to hide AI results in Google Search using the parameter &udm=14. Librarians emphasize that the goal is not complete rejection of technology but helping people regain control over their devices and data amid aggressive AI integration by major companies.