Avoiding AI
As AI spreads, it’s increasingly difficult to avoid, and literacy about safety becomes essential. This starts with simple education: where can you control your exposure to AI? What do you need to know to stay safe where you do have to interact with it? How can you advocate for more control over your use and exposure?
Enter the public library! (Long live the public library!)
How to do it:
Hannah Cyrus, a librarian who holds technology classes in Bangor, Maine got so many questions about turning off AI that she created a class to educate patrons. Word got out and it filled up…repeatedly. Now other libraries are picking up the idea. If you’d like to see “avoiding AI” classes in your library, talk to your local library programming coordinator. Here are some resources to help them build a class to educate folks:
TechCrunch broke the story nation-wide.
Information Technology and Libraries has a journal article Hannah published, which your librarian can access for more detailed information and reasons why this class might be worthwhile.
Finally Bangor’s library holds the “Avoiding AI” class semi-regularly. They are available online, and as far as I can tell you don’t have to be a local library member, however they have been at capacity so please don’t sign up unless you’ll definitely attend. If enough librarians reach out, Ms. Cyrus might also be willing to set up a train-the-trainer session to spread capacity. News stories indicate she has offered mentoring and materials to others who have taught the class.
Why we’re doing it:
There are numerous problems with LLM style AI, from the environmental costs to privacy concerns. For those who love books, the destruction of antique books to train models is an additional outrage. For more information, see our QuitGPT and AI Medical notes posts.
