Peoria Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle
Friday, May 1st, 2026 9:00 – 10:30 a.m.
Peoria Women's Club, 301 NE Madison Ave., Peoria
In collaboration with Bradley University's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), the PWC invites you to join the Peoria Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, recognized as the oldest continuous book club in the United States. Lynette Steger, a professional educator and Peoria Women's Club board member, is the moderator.
Registration will be available through the OLLI website under Spring Semester: https://www.bradley.edu/academic/continue/olli/. A small fee includes membership in the national Chautauqua Institution, contributions toward CLSC graduation, and access to discussions, snacks, and coffee.
What we are reading and discussing:
Future Tense: How We Made Artificial Intelligence - And How It Will Change Everything
By Martha Brockenbrough
Human history has always been shaped by technology, but AI is like no technology that has come before it.
Unlike the wheel, combustion engines, or electricity, AI does the thing that humans do best: think. While AI hasn’t reproduced the marvelously complex human brain, it has accomplished astonishing things. AI has defeated our players at games like chess. It’s learned to recognize objects and speech. It can create art and music. It’s even allowed grieving people to feel as though they were talking with their dead loved ones.
On the flip side, it’s put innocent people in jail, manipulated the emotions of social media users, and tricked people into believing untrue things.
In this non-fiction book for teens, acclaimed author and teacher Martha Brockenbrough guides readers through the development of this world-changing technology, exploring how AI has touched every corner of our world, including education, healthcare, work, politics, war, international relations, and even romance. This is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how artificial intelligence got here, how to make the best use of it, and how we can expect it to transform our lives.
Questions?
Contact Peoria CLSC Instructor Lynette Steger at (309) 642-2688 or stegerlynette@gmail.com.
Location: Peoria Women’s Club, 301 NE Madison Ave., Peoria, IL 61603
