Join the Library for a special Ecological Emergency Book Club Collaboration on Wednesday 22nd October, 2-4pm in the North Training Room of the Eavan Boland Library.
Together with Adam Kelly, Associate Prof of English in UCD, we’ll discuss Playground, the new novel by Richard Powers (author of The Overstory). The novel is many things - an ode to the ocean and the wondrous things that live there, a consideration of colonialism and neocolonialism, a reflection on friendship, and a provocation on what generative AI means for memory, reality, and the future of life on earth. Despite these vast and profound themes, this book is a lot easier and quicker to read than Powers’ other recent novels!
Adam Kelly recently authored an op-ed in the Irish times on the topic of Playground, its central theme - generative AI, and what genAI means for the university. He wrote “LLMs are the most effective tool ever created to curtail the traditional work of universities, the cultivation of critical individual minds". Members of the Book Club also authored an op-ed arguing that the university should resist generative AI. The book club discussion will bridge from the themes explore in the novel to these broader themes of what generative AI means for higher education and the world beyond.
The book is widely available in paperback and as an audiobook (just short of 14hrs). Four copies of Powers' 'Playground’ will be available from the Trinity Library by the end of this week, and you will find it at your local library too.
The Book Club meeting will be in person and is open to all members of the College community (students, staff - professional, research, academic), so please spread the word!