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AI companies are scanning and destroying old books

AI companies are buying old books, scanning them, and destroying the physical copies to obtain training data free of AI-generated content, according to a report by 404 Media. The program is facilitated by ISBNdb, which helps companies purchase vintage books in bulk with the pitch: 'The world's best AI training data is sitting on a shelf.'

read1 min views1 publishedJul 30, 2026

AI companies are buying old books, scanning them and destroying the remains, writes Emanuel Maiberg at 404 Media. The program is enabled by ISBNdb, maintainers of a vast book database, which helps them buy vintage physical media in bulk: "The world's best AI training data is sitting on a shelf," its pitch reads. — Read the rest

The post AI companies are scanning and destroying old books appeared first on Boing Boing.

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