Marking its 10‑year anniversary, MIT Reads is being reimagined for the age of artificial intelligence. The program will now focus on fiction and memoir, leveraging the power of stories to help us understand ourselves and our place in the world.\ \ MIT Libraries Director Chris Bourg explains, “At MIT we spend a great deal of time imagining and building for the future. Reading fiction prompts us to think about how what we build might change us.” He adds that collective reading offers a rare chance for both individual reflection and shared connection.\ \ MIT Reads is also evolving alongside MIT’s exploration of AI’s impact on education and the institute’s social fabric. A recent report from MIT’s Ad Hoc Committee on AI Use in Teaching, Learning, and Research Training calls for stronger social connection and personal well‑being, citing MIT Reads as a way to “engage many more people across campus in conversation about shared norms and why community matters.”\ \ Launched in 2016, MIT Reads was designed to foster empathy, understanding, and belonging. Each selected book is paired with author talks, panel discussions, and small‑group conversations facilitated by library staff. The program’s reach extends beyond campus; most author events are open to the public and streamed online, and videos of MIT Reads talks have amassed over 5,000 views.\ \ To mark this new era, President Sally Kornbluth has chosen Ted Chiang’s short‑story collection Exhalation as the fall 2026 read. The bestseller, named one of The New York Times’ best books of 2019, uses thought‑provoking sci‑fi scenarios—robots, time travel, alternate universes—to explore identity, free will, language, and the impact of technology. Kornbluth notes, “Chiang offered an uncanny preview of many issues we’re grappling with now concerning technology, particularly the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence.” Bourg adds that these questions demand a much wider discussion and invites readers everywhere to join.\ \ In addition, first‑year advising seminar 21.A01 (Reading Great Books with Compass) will read Exhalation this fall. The class is part of the Compass initiative, designed by faculty across the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences and supported by the MIT Human Insight Collaborative.\ \ Review