Library professionals are responding to a surge in patron complaints about unwanted AI assistance by organizing hands‑on workshops titled “Avoid AI.”
Charlie Bailey, a librarian in Philadelphia, leads sessions that show participants how to disable chatbots, stop auto‑writing in email clients, hide AI‑generated search summaries and prevent personal data from being used to train models on platforms from Apple, Google and Microsoft.
Hannah Cyrus, a librarian from Maine and an early advocate of the movement, says users frequently ask why a system tries to draft an email for them or summarize a single‑sentence letter they could read themselves.
Bailey emphasizes that the aim is not to reject technological progress but to restore user control over digital choices, noting that many classes fill up quickly and are now streamed live via Zoom to meet demand.
Interest in the curriculum is spreading internationally, with specialists seeking teaching materials to replicate the seminars, potentially prompting tech firms to reconsider mandatory AI roll‑outs.