Pre-read chosen for Class of 2030, second of the past three focused on AI

“Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World” by Maryanne Wolf will be the Pre-read for the Class of 2030, according to a University announcement. It will be the second Pre-read book in the past three years that centers on the use of artificial intelligence. 

Started by University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 in 2013, the Princeton Pre-read has served the purpose of bringing the incoming class together for an intellectual discussion. 

In his foreword to the Pre-read version of the book, Eisgruber wrote, “I chose ‘Reader, Come Home’ as this year’s Pre-read because it addresses a question of vital importance to every entering student: Why should we continue to read long, challenging books when artificial intelligence agents can quickly summarize them for us?”

Wolf is the director of UCLA’s Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners and Social Justice. She previously served as the John DiBiaggio Professor of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University, as well as the director of their Center for Reading and Language Research.

“Reader, Come Home” is the last text in what she calls a trilogy of books about cognition. The previous two are “Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain” and “Dyslexia, Fluency, and the Brain.” 

The Pre-read selection explores how digital technology is changing the way our brains read, arguing that the shift away from print and towards the screen is jeopardizing our capacity for deep reading. It proposes ways to cultivate a “biliterate” reading brain that can effectively navigate both print and digital reading. 

In a statement to The Daily Princetonian, Wolf wrote that she wants to inspire incoming Princeton students to build the most elaborate, critical, empathetic and reflective brain that the human species can achieve. 

“To do this, however, will require them a whole new understanding of reading and how it changes the brain. It means putting aside former childhood concepts of reading, and discovering that what I call ‘deep reading’ requires time, attention, cognitive patience, and reflection from them,” she wrote. She added that these abilities are threatened “by the temporal shortcuts of a culture that awards efficiency more than the quality of thought.”

Wolf hopes that students will see “deep reading” as a personal act of resistance against a mindless use of information. She believes that “critical thinking and empathy provide a platform for their [students] best thoughts and ultimately, for their contributions to a democratic society.”

In interviews with the ‘Prince,’ admitted students attending Tuesday’s Princeton Preview shared their thoughts on the book and the importance of having conversations about AI usage. 

“I think the whole point of college … is to undergo the intellectual process of being a student here, and you can only do that if you use AI responsibly, and, in my opinion, in a limited way,” admitted student Marco Venegas said in an interview with the ‘Prince.’ 

“The more we can talk about it, the less it can be taboo.” 

Admitted student Katie Bergsieker agreed that it is important to have nuanced, responsible conversations about AI. “It’s really easy to either label AI as something that’s really good, or something that’s really bad,” Bergsieker said. 

“Reading matters a lot for how we learn, store knowledge, and how we write down and communicate our own ideas,” admitted student Benjamin Wang said. “I think AI is going to be very big in the future, and it’s very good to keep up with the times.” 

“With Princeton education and liberal arts, it is important to emphasize how reading will change with AI,” he added. 

“I think talking about AI in a college setting is very important … We need to make sure that we’re still struggling through that learning process, because that’s how we grow and that’s how we learn,” Delia Dixon, another admitted student, said. 

“We need to focus more on how we can use it [AI] from a research perspective, and less of a servant for your tasks, ” she continued. 

“I think it’s actually very important to be talking about AI, since it’s growing and we are probably going to be using it in the future,” shared Yelena Guerrero, an admitted first-year who is not committed to the University. “It’s better to spread awareness about how to use it in a good way, because people are not going to stop using it.” 

For Wolf, the selection of her work to be the Pre-read for the class of 2030 marks the fulfillment of her dream as a writer.

“I can only compare it to the hopes that many writers possess: that their best efforts to articulate their deepest hopes for humanity will become what Proust called that ‘fertile miracle of communication’ that happens in the solitary home of the reader’s mind,” she wrote. 

In 2024, the University selected “The Worlds I See” by Fei-Fei Li ’99 as the Pre-read book for the Class of 2028. Li’s book focuses on the future of AI and her own life experience as she and her family searched for a sense of belonging as immigrants to the United States. 

Incoming students receive a copy of the book over the summer, and will engage in a conversation about it at the Pre-read assembly during orientation. 

Giselle Moreno is a News contributor from Dallas interested in covering the Municipality of Princeton. She can be reached at gm2076[at]princeton.edu. 

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.