@PurpleJillybeans @MichaelBishop Well, Linux itself doesn’t care about the technology you install (or navigate via the web to run) on it, so there’s no unified switch you can throw to keep AI out.
That said, I mention above using LMDE (Linux Mint Debian Edition) because it bases itself on Debian (as open source and as little company-driven, as practical). But you’d still need to avoid websites you know use AI, to actively turn off AI features in apps you use, and all of that.
This is much better than Windows, where AI features come increasingly turned on by default, and some can’t be easily turned off, or turning them off would break basic functionality.
But even on Linux, you need to keep abreast of where/when AI may rear its ugly head. One issue I’ve recently learned of is the popular browser Firefox shipping (as of version 126, on all platforms, not just Linux) some new AI (but “anonymized”) settings you need to turn off.
I learned about it, and was at least pointed toward where to learn how to turn it off, by this video on @thelinuxexperiment

https://youtu.be/iinwIYt1IzM

@MichaelBishop @PurpleJillybeans Also good: PeppermintOS (also based on Debian, though command line does show up with updates, out of the gate) and there are those who swear by MX Linux (also based on Debian).
Why am I pushing Debian-based distros so much, without recommending Debian itself? Well, the Debian install process is dated & somewhat arduous (confusing here & there, but mostly LONG), and then running it lacks personality until you (learn to) tweak it. It is rock-solid & only recently started shipping any non-free (as in libre) software at all, none of which is installed by default. But it is solid the way a sysadmin wants Linux to be; they want it to never crash & know how to configure it down to the minutest detail, to their liking. If you run Linux long enough, you’ll learn to do that. In the meantime, I recommend simple, mostly libre distros that work out of the box.
Last addition (I know I’ve been writing super-long posts, sorry!): An Ubuntu-derived (but fully de-Canonical-ized) distro that prides itself on being FULLY libre is Trisquel. But their LTS (long-term support) cycle & even general upgrade speed is SLO~O~OW, because they literally mean to tear every component of the system apart, remove ANY proprietary code at all, and rebuild it FULLY libre (or replace that component, if they can’t make it libre). That’s A LOT of work for a small team, and their kernel releases (for example) are SO FAR BEHIND even the near-newest “long term” ones listed on kernel.org. So, OK if you don’t mind running an old system you plan not to upgrade much, and which may not support the latest software or features, and also tough to use on the internet. But worth it, for some people.