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.'

AI companies are buying old books, scanning them and destroying the remains https://www.404media.co/ai-companies-are-buying-tons-of-old-books-because-theyre-free-of-ai-slop/ , 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 https://boingboing.net/2026/07/30/ai-companies-are-scanning-and-destroying-old-books.html The post AI companies are scanning and destroying old books https://boingboing.net/2026/07/30/ai-companies-are-scanning-and-destroying-old-books.html appeared first on Boing Boing https://boingboing.net .