tech
Book Sellers Alarmed as AI Giants Shred Millions of Books
One book store owner noticed a sudden spike in book sales in April—between double and triple the weekly sales tally.
TL;DR
- AI companies are scanning millions of printed books to train artificial intelligence models.
- The original books are then shredded and destroyed after scanning.
- This practice, known as AI 'book shredding,' has caused alarm among booksellers and cultural preservationists.
- While not always rare books, the destruction is seen as a cultural loss.
- Practices like Project Panama by Anthropic aim to collect and retain 'all the books in the world' forever.
- Lack of transparency makes it difficult to track who is acquiring these books and for what purpose.
- Some booksellers have noticed unusual spikes in orders for older or obscure books, potentially related to AI data acquisition.
- Efforts are underway to create AI-powered platforms for cataloging used and rare books to promote preservation.
- Public trust in AI's responsible use is low, with many Americans concerned about its potential harm.