AI companies are buying up old books to escape their own AI slop

AI companies are buying old printed books in bulk to source human-written training data, as the open web becomes saturated with AI-generated text that risks causing 'model collapse' when used to train new models.

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 .