Librarians are turning AI skepticism into a viral public-service trend

Updated July 25, 2026 7:54 pm

Libraries in Philadelphia, Maine and beyond are drawing unusual crowds for a simple reason: many people want help turning artificial intelligence features off. The growing popularity of “Avoiding AI” workshops shows that a sizable audience is frustrated by consumer tech products that increasingly default to AI-enabled tools, and it has turned local librarians into unlikely guides for digital self-defense.

What began as a niche class on device settings has become a broader cultural signal. Patrons are showing up not to learn how to use AI, but how to stop phones, search engines and software from pushing it into their daily routines. The surge matters because it reflects a public backlash against what many attendees see as forced adoption, especially as major platforms embed AI features more deeply into consumer products.

Why are people going to “Avoiding AI” workshops?

People are attending because they feel overwhelmed by AI being added to tools they already use and trust. In these library sessions, the goal is not to demonize technology, but to give users practical control over whether AI features stay on or off.

At a workshop in South Philadelphia, librarian Charlie Bailey walked roughly 20 adults through the basics of consumer AI, then showed them how to disable features on popular devices and platforms. He framed the class as a response to growing frustration among people who feel AI is appearing everywhere without their consent.

Bailey said the appeal of the workshop came from a widespread sense that tech products are increasingly designed to push adoption. Rather than being asked whether they want these tools, users are often confronted with AI summaries, writing assistants, chatbots and suggestion engines by default.

What makes these workshops different from ordinary tech help?

These workshops are different because they are explicitly about refusal, not adoption. Traditional library technology classes often teach people how to use computers, email or search tools; the new sessions teach people how to preserve choice in an ecosystem that increasingly assumes AI is welcome.

That distinction has resonated with attendees who are not anti-technology in general. Some want to preserve privacy, some worry about workplace pressure, and some object to the environmental cost of AI systems. Others simply do not want their software to rewrite messages, summarize straightforward text or surface AI-generated search results unless they request it.

How did a Maine librarian help spark the trend?

The movement took shape after Hannah Cyrus, a librarian at Bangor Public Library in Maine, developed her own workshop and wrote about the idea in a journal article. Her approach spread quickly through the library world, drawing inquiries from librarians across the United States and abroad who wanted to adapt the concept for their own communities.

Cyrus said the response was unlike anything she had seen in her professional work. She described an unusually large number of librarians asking for her slides and teaching materials, a sign that the topic had tapped into a deep public need.

Cyrus said she had never before received this kind of demand for her workshop materials, describing the outreach as unprecedented compared with her earlier classes.

At Bangor Public Library, Cyrus said patrons repeatedly asked how to turn AI features off and why software was attempting to write or summarize their emails for them. That feedback pushed her to create a class that explains both the basics of how consumer AI works and the steps needed to opt out when possible.

What happened when the Maine workshop filled up?

Interest quickly exceeded expectations. Cyrus said her usual technology classes attract around a dozen people, but the first “Avoiding AI” workshop was so popular that she capped attendance at 30, created a waitlist and streamed the event online. Across the livestream and in-person attendance, roughly 70 people took part in each of her first two workshops.

The demand underscored a broader point: opposition to AI in this setting is not confined to policy debates or online discourse. It is showing up in public institutions where people already go for help navigating everyday technology.

Why are librarians becoming the face of AI skepticism?

Librarians are becoming the face of AI skepticism because they are trusted educators who already help communities manage information, privacy and access. Their jobs place them at the center of digital literacy, which makes them natural hosts for workshops focused on informed refusal as well as informed use.

Bailey said the role fit the profession’s mission. For him, helping people understand and control AI settings is part of teaching digital literacy and protecting autonomy. In his view, users should be able to decide whether they want AI tools rather than having those tools imposed through default settings and interface design.

Bailey said the workshop is, in his view, about digital literacy and reclaiming personal control over whether AI belongs in a user’s daily tech life.

That perspective is helping the workshops spread. Bailey learned about the concept from Cyrus and then launched his own version in Philadelphia. The response was immediate enough that he had to add a second session after the first one filled too quickly.

How big is the public response?

The public response has been unusually strong for a local library program. Bailey said the Philadelphia library’s Instagram post promoting the event drew more than 2,000 likes and 220 shares, far above the engagement level the library usually sees on social media.

That kind of reaction suggests the topic has become a lightning rod for broader frustration about consumer technology. Many people who attend appear eager not only for instruction, but also for validation that they are not alone in feeling pressured by AI-heavy products.

Several attendees used the workshop as a chance to swap tips and vent about the spread of AI in daily life. One participant suggested a Google Search workaround that hides AI-generated results by adding a specific query string. Another wrote the tip on a whiteboard so others could use it later.

What are attendees saying about AI?

Attendees are expressing a mix of frustration, skepticism and conditional acceptance. Some say AI feels intrusive at work and in personal devices. Others worry about the environmental footprint of the data centers and energy needed to power these tools. Some are not rejecting AI altogether, but want clearer boundaries around when and where it should be used.

One attendee said the pace of data-center expansion made the technology feel more immediate and local than abstract. Another said she was not against AI in areas such as medicine, but resented seeing it inserted into ordinary consumer software by default.

That split is important. The workshops are not functioning as a blanket anti-technology rally. They are a venue for people who want nuanced control over a technology they believe is being overpromoted and overintegrated.

What exactly do the workshops teach?

The workshops teach a combination of concept and practice. First, attendees get a plain-language introduction to how AI chatbots and consumer AI products work and why companies promote them. Then the classes shift into step-by-step demonstrations showing how to disable or limit those features across a range of platforms and devices.

That practical emphasis is what makes the sessions useful to a broad audience, including people who are not especially technical. They leave with concrete instructions instead of abstract warnings.

Examples of what participants learn

• How to turn off AI features on phones and operating systems
• How to limit AI search results and summaries
• How to disable chatbot-style helpers in consumer apps
• How to check device settings for default AI prompts
• How to compare useful automation with unwanted automation

In Bailey’s class, the instructions were projected for the room to follow along. When attendees mentioned tips of their own, he added them to a shared whiteboard, turning the session into a community knowledge exchange rather than a top-down lecture.

How does this fit into the bigger AI backlash?

This fits into a larger backlash against the normalization of AI in consumer life. Public discussion about AI often focuses on frontier models, workplace disruption, misinformation or regulation. The library workshops reveal a different, more intimate form of resistance: ordinary users asking how to get some control back.

That matters because consumer adoption has often been framed by companies as inevitable. Yet the popularity of these classes suggests that inevitability is not the same as acceptance. People may still use AI in some settings while rejecting it in others, and many simply want the option to opt out.

Cyrus argued that the current wave of forced-feeling integrations may be reaching a tipping point. In her view, users have long been aware that major tech firms exert extraordinary influence over everyday life, and the latest AI push is intensifying that discomfort.

Cyrus said many people feel the pressure to accept AI tools has become the breaking point after years of growing concern about the power of large technology companies.

What the trend says about trust in Big Tech

The rise of “Avoiding AI” workshops is also a trust story. Tech companies increasingly present AI as a helpful layer that improves efficiency, search, communication and creativity. But many users see those additions as another instance of platforms making decisions on their behalf.

That tension goes beyond any single company or product. Apple Intelligence, Gemini and other AI features are only the most visible examples of a broader shift in product design. Users are noticing that settings are harder to find, defaults are more aggressive and opt-out paths can be buried.

For libraries, this creates an opportunity to fill a civic role. Librarians are not just explaining technology; they are helping people understand the trade-offs embedded in modern software and decide how much automation they actually want.

What is at stake for consumers?

What is at stake for consumers is control over their own devices, data and attention. If AI features are turned on by default or pushed through updates, users may find that their phones, browsers and apps behave in ways they never intended.

That has practical consequences:

1. People may receive automated summaries instead of raw information.
2. Email and writing tools may alter text before users are ready.
3. Search results may prioritize AI-generated answers.
4. Users may struggle to locate settings buried inside menus.
5. Opting out may require more technical know-how than many people have.

For some workshop attendees, these concerns are enough to justify taking time to shut features off. For others, the issue is not a total rejection of AI but a demand for consent, transparency and better defaults.

Timeline of the workshop movement

The spread of the workshops has been quick, but it is possible to trace a clear sequence of events that helped turn a local idea into a broader trend.

What happens next?

The likely next step is more replication. As more people see these workshops online or hear about them through library networks, additional public libraries may adopt similar sessions. Because the format is simple and low-cost, it can be scaled easily, especially in communities where patrons are already asking how to reduce AI’s reach.

The popularity of the programs also suggests a broader policy and product-design question. If consumers need public workshops to understand how to turn off features that they did not request, companies may need to reconsider how aggressively they are integrating AI into core products.

For now, the workshops are serving as a kind of civic pressure valve. They give people a place to ask questions, share frustrations and learn that opting out is still possible in some cases, even if it requires effort.

And that may be why they are resonating so widely. The appeal is not just anti-AI sentiment. It is the more basic idea that technology should remain something people choose, not something that simply arrives already switched on.

Key facts at a glance

The rise of these workshops shows that AI’s cultural story is no longer only about innovation and competition. It is also about permission, comfort and the right to say no.