Breaking

Anti-Tech Activists in NYC Chant Rejection of Gemini, GPT, Grok, Claude

July 10, 2026 at 17:33 EDT

Foundation Models
Policy & Regulation

From June 28 to July 5, 2026, at the anti-Big Tech festival "Summer of Ludd" held around Tompkins Square Park in New York City's East Village, activists led by members of Gen Z chanted "No Gemini, no GPT, no Grok, no Claude," voicing their rejection of the major generative AI services.

June 28 – July 5, 2026 · East Village, NYC

"No Gemini, No GPT, No Grok, No Claude"

At the phone-free festival "Summer of Ludd," a loose group of Gen Z organizers gathered to reject Big Tech and the surge of generative AI — turning a chant that names and rejects the major models into a symbol of a generation's backlash.

~300

attendees told to put away their devices at the opening

120+

programs: zine-making, mending, offline dating, radio & more

days, entirely phone-, recording- & photo-free

Teens see social media as a negative force — and the view is growing

Share of U.S. teens calling social media's impact on peers "negative"

32%

2022

→

48%

2024

Earnest & Fun

Cutting back on social media pushed some to join real-world protests. Praise for gaining "human connection and other people's perspectives."

Skeptical Notes

A former Big Tech engineer warned of non-technical people shipping AI-written code. A researcher: "even with agreement, life is hard to change."

A Wider Shift

The "neo-Luddites" — supposed digital natives — echo the 19th-century textile workers, resisting the mental toll of social media, attention harvesting, surveillance and fast-rising generative AI.

Booing pro-AI commencement speakers

Moving away from dating apps

Rise of in-person run clubs & events

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