Librarians across the country are hosting "Avoiding AI" workshops that teach attendees how to disable artificial intelligence features on popular tech platforms and devices. The workshops, which have gone viral, provide step-by-step instructions for turning off AI tools on platforms like Apple Intelligence and Gemini.
The workshops were pioneered by Hannah Cyrus, a librarian in Maine who published a journal article about developing her own curriculum after patrons increasingly asked for help disabling AI features. "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?" patrons asked Cyrus. Her first workshop had to cap registration at 30 people with a waitlist, drawing about 70 attendees including a Zoom livestream.
Bailey, a librarian in Philadelphia, was inspired to launch a similar workshop after reading Cyrus's article and noticing "people's frustration with AI tools being forced onto them." He emphasizes the workshops advance digital literacy by helping people understand how AI works and reclaim autonomy over whether to use it. "It's important, especially when it can be so difficult not to use them, and when the design seems to force adoption," Bailey said.