Secondhand booksellers in UK and Ireland suspect AI firms behind ‘strange’ bulk orders

Secondhand booksellers in the UK and Ireland report a surge in bulk orders from mystery buyers, with speculation that AI companies are purchasing books for data acquisition. The Guardian's investigation follows reports that Anthropic spent millions on books to scan for 'data acquisition'.

Secondhand booksellers in UK and Ireland suspect AI firms behind ‘strange’ bulk orders By Dan Milmo Global technology editorSource: The Guardian Technology https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology Development comes after Anthropic /glossary/anthropic was found to have spent millions on books to scan for ‘data acquisition’ Secondhand booksellers in the UK and Ireland are reporting a flurry of bulk orders from mystery buyers, amid speculation AI companies are acquiring the tomes for their data. Bookshops contacted by the Guardian say they have been receiving orders from buyers in the US, Canada, continental Europe and the UK. The increase has been replicated around the world, with booksellers in the US, Australia and Europe also reporting unusual orders. Continue reading... https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/15/uk-ireland-booksellers-suspect-ai-companies-bulk-orders-data-acquisition Get AI news in your inbox Daily digest of what matters in AI.