Librarians like Charlie Bailey in South Philadelphia are leading 'Avoiding AI' workshops to guide individuals through the process of disabling AI features on their personal devices and popular tech platforms. These sessions were inspired by a perceived widespread frustration among users regarding the unsolicited integration of AI tools into their daily digital experiences.
The workshops begin with an overview of how AI chatbots and consumer AI tools function, discussing both potential benefits and reasons for opting out. Participants then receive step-by-step instructions on how to turn off specific AI functionalities, such as Apple Intelligence and Gemini. Librarians view this initiative as a means to advance digital literacy and empower individuals to control their technology use.
The concept for the 'Avoiding AI' workshop originated with Hannah Cyrus, a librarian in Maine, who developed a similar program after receiving numerous inquiries from patrons about disabling AI features. Her journal article on the topic led to dozens of librarians contacting her for guidance, indicating a broader interest in providing such educational resources to the public.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
One email each morning: the day's tech stories, clustered across outlets and summarized. No account needed.
One email a day. Unsubscribe in one click, any time.
Spend a few minutes, get the whole day. Every topic's top stories in one hands-free rundown — listen, watch, or read the transcript.
▶ Play today's briefNew every morning, and the back catalogue is archived by date.
Librarians in Philadelphia and Maine are conducting workshops titled 'Avoiding AI' to educate the public on how to understand and disable AI features on their devices and platforms. These workshops address user frustration with the automatic integration of AI tools and aim to promote digital literacy and user autonomy.