Hidden Airtag reveals Amazon is trashing rare books to train AI

Key Points:

• Investigative report by 404 Media reveals Amazon is buying rare books in bulk, destroying them after scanning to train its AI models, confirmed by tracking a hidden Airtag to an Amazon AI facility in Las Vegas focused on book scanning.
• Amazon declined to directly address AI training claims, stating only that it purchases books commercially to improve customer products, while insiders indicate the facility faced book shortages earlier this year but remains operational.
• The investigation supports booksellers’ theory that AI firms target books with ISBNs to systematically scan every printed book, often focusing on lower-value or obscure rare books with historical or intellectual significance overlooked by AI companies.
• The practice of destructive book scanning has sparked ethical debates among booksellers and readers, with concerns that unique historical insights in rare books may be lost as AI firms do not share scanned content and prioritize text data over cultural value.
• Discussions on Reddit and among booksellers reflect divided opinions, with some seeing the destruction of dusty, obscure books as less problematic, while others warn of dystopian consequences and call for more transparency and discernment in AI firms’ bulk book acquisitions.