Public libraries across the U.S. are running sold-out workshops that teach patrons how to turn off AI features they never asked for. Charlie Bailey, a librarian in South Philadelphia, and Hannah Cyrus of the Bangor Public Library in Maine are among dozens nationwide now offering step-by-step sessions on disabling Apple Intelligence, Google Gemini, and similar tools baked into everyday devices.
Cyrus said she kept fielding the same question — "How do I turn this stuff off?" — and built a class around it. Her first two sessions each drew roughly 70 attendees, in person and over Zoom; Bailey's Philadelphia event post pulled in over 2,000 Instagram likes, versus the dozens a typical library post gets. Attendees range from people worried about AI's environmental footprint to workers who feel AI tools were imposed on them at their jobs.
The sessions go beyond opt-outs, covering how the tools actually work and even small tricks — one attendee shared that appending "&udm=14" to a Google search hides AI-generated results. Organizers frame the classes as digital-literacy work: helping people make an informed choice rather than defaulting into whatever a platform update switches on.