Independent secondhand booksellers globally report unusual bulk book purchases with random subjects, suspected to supply AI companies like Anthropic for industrial-scale digital scanning and training.
Secondhand booksellers in the UK, Ireland, and globally report a surge in erratic, bulk book orders, fueling speculation that AI companies are acquiring physical books to scan their text for model training before pulping them.
Australian rare booksellers express concern over generative AI companies' practice of 'destructive scanning'—buying physical books, scanning them, and then pulping them—to train AI models. A US lawsuit against Anthropic revealed this practice, now believed widespread, with intermediaries like Zoom Books potentially facilitating it, leading to unusual order patterns for sellers.
Australian rare and secondhand booksellers express concern over "destructive scanning" by generative AI companies, following unusual bulk orders from Canadian firm Zoom Books. A US lawsuit revealed Anthropic's practice of buying, slicing, and pulping books for AI training, raising fears for unique physical artefacts.
