Policy 18 September 2 min read
MIT shifts shared reading towards fiction as AI reshapes education
MIT Reads will focus on fiction and memoir, with Ted Chiang’s Exhalation selected for autumn 2026. Readers outside the university are invited to join the discussion.
MIT president Sally Kornbluth has selected Ted Chiang’s Exhalation as the first autumn book in a revised MIT Reads programme. The 2019 short-story collection explores identity, free will, language and technology through scenarios involving robots, time travel and alternative universes.
Writing for MIT Libraries, Brigham Fay describes a shift towards fiction and memoir as the programme reaches its tenth anniversary. The aim is shared reflection and social connection, rather than instruction in using AI tools.
A discussion beyond campus
An MIT committee on AI use in teaching, learning and research training has urged the university to strengthen personal well-being and social connection. It identified MIT Reads as a way to bring more people into conversations about community and shared norms.
The programme pairs books with author talks, panels and small-group discussions led by library staff. Most author events are open to the public and streamed online, and MIT Libraries is inviting readers elsewhere to take part.
Students in the first-year advising seminar Reading Great Books with Compass will also read Exhalation this autumn. The change concerns a reading programme, not university-wide rules governing AI use.
People outside MIT can join much of the programme’s public author-event activity, while students gain a shared text for discussing technology’s effects. It provides a route into the debate that does not require technical training.
Sources & publication notes
Published in our 21/09/2026 edition. Source dates are shown above.
The AI Street Journal · Free to read
Make this your morning paper.
Three AI stories, clearly explained and illustrated. Free in your inbox.
Prefer to listen? Choose your podcast preferences →