MIT Reads reimagined for AI era on 10-year anniversary
MIT Libraries marks the 10-year anniversary of its MIT Reads program by shifting its focus to fiction, memoir, and the ways artificial intelligence shapes education and community life. Director Chris Bourg says reading fiction helps MIT consider how future technologies might change people, while President Sally Kornbluth highlights the program’s role in fostering social connection and personal…
Key points
- MIT Reads marks 10-year anniversary and shifts focus to fiction, memoir, and AI’s impact on education.
- President Sally Kornbluth chose Ted Chiang’s “Exhalation” as the fall 2026 book for the program.
- MIT Reads events are streamed publicly; videos have been viewed over 5,000 times.
To launch the new phase, President Kornbluth selected Ted Chiang’s 2019 short‑story collection Exhalation as the fall 2026 reading. Chiang’s work, praised by The New York Times, explores robots, time travel, and the impact of technology on identity and free will. MIT Reads will feature author talks, panel discussions, and small‑group conversations, many of which are streamed publicly; videos of past events have been viewed more than 5,000 times. The book will also be read in the first‑year advising seminar 21.A01, part of the Compass initiative supported by the MIT Human Insight Collaborative.
A new chapter for MIT Reads
MIT News on AI · 18 September 2026
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