In the early 19th century, textile artisans rose up against the BigTech of the day. These ‘Luddites’ were not angry at new technology but rather at how it was used to exploit and create inequality. Given our past, it seems fitting that today’s handweavers, knitters and other creatives are increasingly resisting exploitative BigTech and their obsession with AI.
At Lana & Algodon, we are not against technology... After all, we operate an online store. However:
- We are against AI being trained on the intellectual and creative property of others (without explicit consent).
- We are against a rollout that has little regard for workers, the environment, regulations, communities and society as a whole.
- We are against a few billionaires (and now a trillionaire) pushing their AI into every part of our lives in a reckless attempt to win their expensive gamble.
- We are against 'slop' which poses a threat to the livelihoods of creatives.
Sometimes Silicon Valley likes to claim to have 'good intentions', but history teaches us that paternalism and an elite few making societal decisions rarely ends well for the majority of us.
We are actively working to reduce our business’s reliance on AI, particularly generative AI. We do this in solidarity with creatives, gig workers, moderators in developing countries, the environment and communities affected by BigTech and AI.
The original ‘Luddites'
Set against the backdrop of rapid industrialisation in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, many textile artisans (including knitters and handweavers) found themselves being displaced by new technologies. These new technologies were owned by the wealthy ‘tech titans’ of the day who set about restructuring England’s textile-dependent economy and society. These titans got wealthier while skilled artisans lost their jobs en masse , leading to poverty and massive inequality. Those (including many children) who found work in a textile factory were poorly paid and worked in horrifically hard and unsafe conditions.
The workers organised in secret and formed groups which would break the new technology in defiance of the tech titans. The members of this uprising became known as ‘Luddites’. They were not anti-technology (as is popularly believed) but rather they were against the manner in which technology was deployed; a manner that degraded their work and made the lives of ordinary Britons worse.
Steps we are taking
It is now almost impossible to untangle the tentacles BigTech has on our lives. This is particularly true for businesses with an online presence in the AI era. AI ‘tools’ and bots have been forced upon us, often with auto opt-in and with no way (or very convoluted ways) to be disabled.
There is no doubt that there are AI-related features our business is using/supporting without realising or on which we are now dependent. Nonetheless, we are actively working to reduce our use of and reliance on AI (particularly generative AI) as a business.
The following are some steps we have taken (or are currently taking) to reduce our reliance on AI.
(Note: tables in this article may be updated from time-to-time).
Function |
Example steps taken |
| Graphic design & desktop publishing |
We have ended our paid subscription with Canva (which is filled with generative AI features, including some we previously used). We are moving to use more open software like GIMP and LibreOffice. On these systems we are avoiding AI features, where possible. |
| Website / eCommerce |
We use Shopify to manage our online store and it is now littered with AI. However, we have disabled agentic storefronts and now review our settings regularly with a view to reduce AI-related features where we can. Admittedly, we initially used Shopify's AI bot in a few very limited situations to assist with website coding. We now avoid 'vibe coding' and instead up-skill our coding the 'old fashion way' (mostly by searching forums!). We do not use AI to write our blogs/articles, content, news or product descriptions (although some policies/terms are generated or templated by Shopify to ensure compliance). Photos on our website are either taken in-house (e.g., product images), are supplied (e.g., by suppliers with permission), or are from free-to-use sources (avoiding AI-generated images). |
| Web research |
We have switched from Google to DuckDuckGo as our default search engine (with AI features off). We do our own article/blog research and avoid AI for this purpose. |
| Customer communications |
Our website does not contain a chatbot. While we use some auto-response emails and templates (e.g., when making a purchase), we do not use generative AI to write our emails. |
| Email and cloud services | We use Google for email and other limited workspace/cloud services. However, we disable AI-related features as we become aware of them (and when it is possible). |
| Computer hardware and systems | Our business computers are refurbished devices and now run Linux Mint in an effort to reduce our interactions with Co-Pilot and similar AI integrations. |
Table last updated: 23 June 2026.
Transparency & continued AI use
We are not anti-technology or even anti-AI in and of itself; there are niche and restricted cases where benefits likely outweigh the costs. However, this is probably rarely true, particularly in the case of generative AI.
There are some limited situations when we are likely to continue to use AI in our business; however, we will try to be transparent. Below is a list of continued uses we are aware of and our justification. It is important to keep in mind that we may not even be aware of how AI is being used within some programs and services we use and so this list is unlikely to be exhaustive. We will update it as we become aware of uses.
AI use |
Justification |
| Cloud accounting (Reconciliations and data entry) |
Reduced data entry error and increased speed. For a sole trader, it is a godsend. The use is very restricted to matching bank transactions with accounting entries and data entry based off receipts/invoices. We avoid using the chatbot. |
| Shopify | As described in the table above, we now avoid the AI features wherever we can; however, they have become so integrated we expect them to be unavoidable in maintaining our website. |
Table last updated: 23 June 2026.
Recommended reading, viewing and tools
Note: we do not have any affiliations with the businesses or organisations mentioned or linked to in this section.
Blood in the Machine
The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech
By Brian Merchant
A well researched history on the entrepreneurs of old and their negative impact on society, the Luddites, and the Luddite uprising. It is written as an apt analogy for today’s struggles with BigTech and has the added bonus of teaching the reader about the fascinating history of British textiles.
Hachette Book Group
(There is also an audiobook available on platforms like Spotify).
Empire of AI
Inside the reckless race for total domination
An at times terrifying insight into BigTech (particularly OpenAI). Hao has done the hard yards to bring the reader this evidenced investigation into how AI companies think and the massive consequences of their modus operandi.
By Karen Hao
Penguin Press
(There is also an audiobook available on platforms like Spotify).
Enshittification
Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It
An amusing, albeit sometimes depressing, look at how and why the internet (and internet-related services) has become...well... shit.
By Cory Doctorow
MCD x FSG Books
(There is also an audiobook available on platforms like Spotify).
Also check out the references below.
References:
- 'I’m a Luddite. You should be one too’ - The Conversation (2021)
- 'Blood in the Machine' - Brian Merchant (2023)
- 'Empire of AI’- Karen Hao (2026)
- Photos by Andrea Bortolotti & Massimo Botturi (Unsplash)
