# Amazon destroys rare books to train AI models Company's secret book-scanning operation for AI training revealed - **Source:** [Hacker News: Front Page](https://brifing.si/source/b07aa772-b1a0-4a76-aa18-719c6f9e2dde) - **Published:** 2026-08-21 - **Topic:** [Business](https://brifing.si/c/business) - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/22b89718-e10c-41ab-a765-d83f3f963e24 ## Amazon's secret book-scanning operation A 404 Media investigation uncovered Amazon's mass purchase of rare books for AI training. Researchers placed a tracking device in a book they suspected would be acquired by an AI company. The book eventually reached an Amazon warehouse in Nevada. Workers at this facility cut off book bindings for rapid scanning, destroying the original books in the process. ## Details of destructive scanning method At Amazon's VGT3 warehouse in Las Vegas, employees cut the bindings off incoming book shipments. This method enables fast scanning but results in the destruction of original books. The warehouse's logo features a dinosaur holding a book and baring its teeth, seemingly symbolizing Amazon's approach to books. ## The fate of rare books The tracked books were rare editions - either very few copies were printed or they were in less common languages. According to a bookseller, these books hold historical, intellectual and sentimental value, though not as celebrated as first editions of Oliver Twist. For AI companies, only the textual content matters. ## Preservation vs industrial scanning Since 1996, Internet Archive has been digitizing books page by page while preserving their physical integrity. When Google Books launched in 2004, it used industrial-scale but destructive methods. Amazon's current approach appears to be an even more radical version of Google's method. ## Digitizing historical works Internet Archive developed special machines and software to preserve centuries-old books, creating positions like 'book scanner' or 'scribe operator.' Their method is slower but preserves physical and historical value. Amazon's approach prioritizes speed at the cost of destruction. ## Copyright and ethical concerns Amazon's practice pushes the boundaries of 'fair use.' The destruction of rare books raises serious ethical questions about cultural heritage preservation. Extracting only text content means losing historical context and physical characteristics of the books. ## The dark side of AI training Big tech companies need massive data to train AI models, with books being a key source. Amazon's operation reveals the lack of transparency in data collection processes and potential harm to cultural heritage. ## The future of digitization methods The contrasting approaches of Internet Archive and Amazon spark an important debate about digitization ethics: speed versus preservation? Balancing industrial-scale data collection with cultural heritage protection is becoming increasingly difficult, potentially requiring more regulation in AI development processes. ## Sources covering this story - http://observationalepidemiology.blogspot.com/2026/08/it-is-sign-of-times-that-amazon-gets-to.html — --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._