Librarians run viral 'How to avoid AI' workshops for those tired of Big Tech

Charlie Bailey, a librarian from South Philadelphia, leads an hour-long workshop called 'How to Avoid AI,' where he shows how to disable Apple Intelligence and Gemini on devices. He got the idea from Hannah Cyrus, a librarian in Maine, who first developed such a workshop and published an article about it. Her initial sessions had 30 sign-ups, with an additional 70 people watching the livestream—unprecedented interest compared to regular courses. Bailey posted an announcement on Instagram, and the post received over 2,000 likes (usually 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 a complete rejection of technology but helping people regain control over their devices and data amid the aggressive integration of AI by large companies.