One of the biggest questions I get at Drop-In Time at the library (besides "what is taking up all my cloud storage??) is how to disable or avoid intrusive AI that shows up where people don't want it.
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RE: https://mastodonapp.uk/@taoish/116884161402249680
One of the biggest questions I get at Drop-In Time at the library (besides "what is taking up all my cloud storage??) is how to disable or avoid intrusive AI that shows up where people don't want it. I'm going to make a handout that explains how to do some of the basic AI-removal or AI-avoidance things.
Would appreciate links which give simple steps to do this for the most-used (Siri, Alexa, Gemini, Copilot, Firefox's AI nonsense &c.) so I can collate and synthesize. Thanks!
@jessamyn for macOS and iOS https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/how-to-turn-off-apple-intelligence/
I can provide a screenshot of where it is in systemprefs on both macos Sequoia and Tahoe, in the off and not set up states.
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RE: https://mastodonapp.uk/@taoish/116884161402249680
One of the biggest questions I get at Drop-In Time at the library (besides "what is taking up all my cloud storage??) is how to disable or avoid intrusive AI that shows up where people don't want it. I'm going to make a handout that explains how to do some of the basic AI-removal or AI-avoidance things.
Would appreciate links which give simple steps to do this for the most-used (Siri, Alexa, Gemini, Copilot, Firefox's AI nonsense &c.) so I can collate and synthesize. Thanks!
@jessamyn Disabling Copilot is not particularly simple, as it involves editing the registry, and even that doesn't totally remove menu items from some apps. It's also important to understand that if your PC isn't new enough to have a neural processor, the worst features don't function, anyway. This is true even for current models of PCs. I have a 2025 Dell Inspiron 5440 with an Intel Core 7 150U CPU, which does not have a neural processing unit and is therefore not Copilot+ PC certified.
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@jessamyn Disabling Copilot is not particularly simple, as it involves editing the registry, and even that doesn't totally remove menu items from some apps. It's also important to understand that if your PC isn't new enough to have a neural processor, the worst features don't function, anyway. This is true even for current models of PCs. I have a 2025 Dell Inspiron 5440 with an Intel Core 7 150U CPU, which does not have a neural processing unit and is therefore not Copilot+ PC certified.
@jessamyn The best way to get rid of Copilot is to install Linux, and I also know how to remap the Copilot key on newer keyboards back to being my Right Alt key, which is important as its the default position of the Compose key in Linux.
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@jessamyn The best way to get rid of Copilot is to install Linux, and I also know how to remap the Copilot key on newer keyboards back to being my Right Alt key, which is important as its the default position of the Compose key in Linux.
@jessamyn I'd love to be kept abreast of developments, so I can share them at the Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro.
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RE: https://mastodonapp.uk/@taoish/116884161402249680
One of the biggest questions I get at Drop-In Time at the library (besides "what is taking up all my cloud storage??) is how to disable or avoid intrusive AI that shows up where people don't want it. I'm going to make a handout that explains how to do some of the basic AI-removal or AI-avoidance things.
Would appreciate links which give simple steps to do this for the most-used (Siri, Alexa, Gemini, Copilot, Firefox's AI nonsense &c.) so I can collate and synthesize. Thanks!
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@jessamyn Librewolf is the one true big killswitch to Firefox's enshittification, make sure to mention that.
@ariarhythmic These are not people who can install their own software in general so while I will mention it (for sure! all the options!) I suspect it will not be an option for them.
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@jessamyn I'd love to be kept abreast of developments, so I can share them at the Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro.
@gcvsa Yeah this is generally not a Linux crowd but I will forward it as an option. If there is a Linux distro that is easy/possible to install on old Macs (with instructions) that is what I am looking for, personally.
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@gary_alderson I'm sure that's true but my earnest question remains.
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@gcvsa Yeah this is generally not a Linux crowd but I will forward it as an option. If there is a Linux distro that is easy/possible to install on old Macs (with instructions) that is what I am looking for, personally.
@jessamyn i am typing this on a 2012 MacBook Pro running Linux Mint Debian Edition 7. It runs flawlessly, no weird tricks to the install.
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RE: https://mastodonapp.uk/@taoish/116884161402249680
One of the biggest questions I get at Drop-In Time at the library (besides "what is taking up all my cloud storage??) is how to disable or avoid intrusive AI that shows up where people don't want it. I'm going to make a handout that explains how to do some of the basic AI-removal or AI-avoidance things.
Would appreciate links which give simple steps to do this for the most-used (Siri, Alexa, Gemini, Copilot, Firefox's AI nonsense &c.) so I can collate and synthesize. Thanks!
@jessamyn It’s really getting bad; I searched for something Monday that would’ve come right up a year ago, but instead I got stuck with a huge AI explanation that didn’t have diddly squat to do with the resource I was looking for—and I was using DuckDuckGo.
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@gcvsa Yeah this is generally not a Linux crowd but I will forward it as an option. If there is a Linux distro that is easy/possible to install on old Macs (with instructions) that is what I am looking for, personally.
@jessamyn @gcvsa I’m liking @elementary on my 2015 MacBook Pro. I’ve had a few adaptation issues, but the trackpad behavior and gestures are close enough to what I’m used to that it doesn’t feel as foreign as, say, Linux Mint. -
RE: https://mastodonapp.uk/@taoish/116884161402249680
One of the biggest questions I get at Drop-In Time at the library (besides "what is taking up all my cloud storage??) is how to disable or avoid intrusive AI that shows up where people don't want it. I'm going to make a handout that explains how to do some of the basic AI-removal or AI-avoidance things.
Would appreciate links which give simple steps to do this for the most-used (Siri, Alexa, Gemini, Copilot, Firefox's AI nonsense &c.) so I can collate and synthesize. Thanks!
@jessamyn You, madam, are a hero. And long live librarians!
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@jessamyn @gcvsa I’m liking @elementary on my 2015 MacBook Pro. I’ve had a few adaptation issues, but the trackpad behavior and gestures are close enough to what I’m used to that it doesn’t feel as foreign as, say, Linux Mint.
@fedward @jessamyn @elementary I haven't used elementary since 0.4, and at that time, it was OK, but maybe still a little rough around the edges. I'm sure it's improved since then.
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RE: https://mastodonapp.uk/@taoish/116884161402249680
One of the biggest questions I get at Drop-In Time at the library (besides "what is taking up all my cloud storage??) is how to disable or avoid intrusive AI that shows up where people don't want it. I'm going to make a handout that explains how to do some of the basic AI-removal or AI-avoidance things.
Would appreciate links which give simple steps to do this for the most-used (Siri, Alexa, Gemini, Copilot, Firefox's AI nonsense &c.) so I can collate and synthesize. Thanks!
@jessamyn one suggestion is not to use Chrome, which is just loaded with "AI" sea lions. But the thing is just everywhere; I don't think that's a realistic suggestion unfortunately.
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DuckDuckGo search engine offers AI summaries by default 🤬 , but if you set up a custom search engine in your browser https://noai.duckduckgo.com?q=%s it won't use AI at all.
The Vivaldi web browser doesn't use AI, though I think the default search engine is Google.
Good luck.
@firebreathingduck @jessamyn I installed Vivaldi on my Win11 machine at work just yesterday. Happy to report the default SE was StartPage.
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RE: https://mastodonapp.uk/@taoish/116884161402249680
One of the biggest questions I get at Drop-In Time at the library (besides "what is taking up all my cloud storage??) is how to disable or avoid intrusive AI that shows up where people don't want it. I'm going to make a handout that explains how to do some of the basic AI-removal or AI-avoidance things.
Would appreciate links which give simple steps to do this for the most-used (Siri, Alexa, Gemini, Copilot, Firefox's AI nonsense &c.) so I can collate and synthesize. Thanks!
I have consolidated many of these suggestions into a document with a few other links. Anything major that I am missing? This is mostly for the types of users I interact with (mainly older adults) so I did not include things like Slack and I'm not sure about things I don't use much like Outlook or Facebook. Other suggestions for links about removing AI geared towards not-very-technical people?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nYLmQLYZy_Mg-Dh6iME6R61Jjh4L6sRrw1v2dLXs9aE/edit?usp=sharing
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I have consolidated many of these suggestions into a document with a few other links. Anything major that I am missing? This is mostly for the types of users I interact with (mainly older adults) so I did not include things like Slack and I'm not sure about things I don't use much like Outlook or Facebook. Other suggestions for links about removing AI geared towards not-very-technical people?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nYLmQLYZy_Mg-Dh6iME6R61Jjh4L6sRrw1v2dLXs9aE/edit?usp=sharing
@jessamyn https://tenbluelinks.org/ if they'd like to still use google search
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I have consolidated many of these suggestions into a document with a few other links. Anything major that I am missing? This is mostly for the types of users I interact with (mainly older adults) so I did not include things like Slack and I'm not sure about things I don't use much like Outlook or Facebook. Other suggestions for links about removing AI geared towards not-very-technical people?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nYLmQLYZy_Mg-Dh6iME6R61Jjh4L6sRrw1v2dLXs9aE/edit?usp=sharing
@jessamyn this just popped on my timeline, so thank you for taking the time to put this together
Does DuckDuckGo's no-ai page merit a mention? https://noai.duckduckgo.com/ -
@jessamyn this just popped on my timeline, so thank you for taking the time to put this together
Does DuckDuckGo's no-ai page merit a mention? https://noai.duckduckgo.com/@Palleas Yes it does, thank you!
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I have consolidated many of these suggestions into a document with a few other links. Anything major that I am missing? This is mostly for the types of users I interact with (mainly older adults) so I did not include things like Slack and I'm not sure about things I don't use much like Outlook or Facebook. Other suggestions for links about removing AI geared towards not-very-technical people?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nYLmQLYZy_Mg-Dh6iME6R61Jjh4L6sRrw1v2dLXs9aE/edit?usp=sharing
@jessamyn
MS Edge?Last time Ars updated, you had to turn off both Copilot, and the then-revealed sidebar button, in order to get the Edge main menu button to appear in the corner, like it should do.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/11/what-i-do-to-clean-up-a-clean-install-of-windows-11-23h2-and-edge/I don't remember having to turn off the sidebar last week though, only Copilot.
