# AI companies are buying up old books to escape their own AI slop > Source: > Published: 2026-07-22 16:18:26+00:00 AI companies are facing a data problem of their own making: the open web is clogged with AI-generated text, and training new models on that sludge invites "model collapse," where machines degrade by eating their own output. One company is filling the need for human-written content by buying old printed books in bulk. — [Read the rest ](https://boingboing.net/2026/07/22/ai-companies-buying-old-books.html) The post [AI companies are buying up old books to escape their own AI slop](https://boingboing.net/2026/07/22/ai-companies-buying-old-books.html) appeared first on [Boing Boing](https://boingboing.net).