Technology

In an unusual yet thought-provoking act of resistance, around 25 young people gathered at Jalagam Vengal Rao Park on Saturday evening for what they called an “AI Haters Picnic”—a creative protest against the rising dominance of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in everyday life.

Organized by There is No Earth B, a climate action group, the event brought together concerned citizens to collectively express their frustrations with AI’s impact on creativity, mental health, employment, and the environment.

Why an “Anti-AI” Picnic?

The picnic was organized as a direct response to what attendees see as the unchecked proliferation of AI technologies. The event was strategically timed—a day before the People’s Convention on Data Centres meeting in Visakhapatnam—highlighting the growing nationwide resistance to AI infrastructure expansion.

Tushar, the event organizer, explained the motivation:

“Broadly, there isn’t enough hate for AI. Vizag is raging against AI as it should. But in cities like Hyderabad and Bengaluru, the hate is minimal, which is why I organised the picnic. We are so keen on our tech culture that we just cannot bring ourselves to see how this affects us unequally. It also collides with any attempts at climate justice.”

Key Concerns Raised by Attendees

1. Threat to Creative Jobs

Siddharth, a 25-year-old neuroscience student, voiced concerns shared by many artists and creators:

“It concerns me that AI is stealing existing work and adversely affecting artists. All creative jobs are going downhill. As someone who studied neuroscience, I am also concerned that AI is diverting funds away from science. I understand using AI as part of research, but it makes little sense to use it in toto instead of hiring an actual person.”

2. Mental Health and AI-Induced Isolation

Manaswini, 24, who works with an NGO on fundraising and partnerships, highlighted the psychological impacts:

“I studied psychology, so I also see how AI has forced isolation. There is an AI-induced psychosis going around.”

She referenced growing concerns among psychologists about how prolonged interactions with AI could enable delusional thinking, adding:

“One way to tackle that thinking is to remove the echo chambers AI puts us in.”

3. Personal Experience with AI Harm

One attendee shared a disturbing personal story about a relative with mental health issues:

“I take care of a relative of mine who has had mental health issues for a while now. At a heightened state of mania, she went about having conversations with AI and believed that she was speaking to a very well-known celebrity. I shudder to think what would have happened if I didn’t chance upon those conversations and bring up concerns. It is harmful, and there aren’t enough people who understand the perils of gen AI.”

4. Environmental Impact

The group emphasized AI’s massive environmental footprint, noting that data centers consume enormous amounts of energy and water, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities—a key climate justice issue.

Creative Protest: “Bad Answers” Game

In an irreverent yet pointed demonstration of AI’s limitations, attendees played a game where they passed food around the park’s gazebo and posed rhetorical questions like:

• “How do you decide whose opinion to value?”
• “What do you do if your car breaks down?”

The group then shouted out absurd “AI-like” answers such as:

• “Decide based on their height”
• “Stop in the middle of a flyover and call your ex-boyfriend for help”

The game served as both comic relief and a sharp critique of AI’s often nonsensical or inappropriate responses to complex human situations.

Building Community as Resistance

The picnic ended with attendees making and flying paper planes—a simple, human activity that stood in stark contrast to the digital complexity they were protesting.

Irfan, a law student and climate activist, reflected on his experience:

“I came here because I was curious, and I had never been to picnics. But there is a fear of AI, and I really wanted to understand how people were engaging with it.”

Manaswini emphasized that community building itself is a form of resistance:

“One way to combat AI is to reaffirm the need for a community.”

The Broader Context: India’s Growing AI Resistance

This Hyderabad picnic is part of a larger movement against AI expansion in India. The timing—just before the Visakhapatnam data centers convention—was deliberate, connecting local concerns to national debates about:

• Data center proliferation and its environmental costs
• Job displacement in creative and knowledge sectors
• Mental health impacts of AI interactions
• Unequal distribution of AI’s benefits and harms
• Climate justice and resource allocation

Looking Ahead: Human Connection in an AI Age

The “AI Haters Picnic” may have been small in numbers, but it represents a growing chorus of voices questioning the uncritical embrace of AI technology. By gathering in a park, sharing food, playing games, and flying paper planes, these young Hyderabadis made a powerful statement: human connection, creativity, and community cannot—and should not—be replaced by algorithms.

As AI continues to reshape industries, relationships, and societies, events like this remind us that resistance can take many forms—including something as simple as a picnic in the park.