--- title: "Digital Cannibalism: Amazon Destroys Rare Books to Train AI" description: "An investigation by 404 Media confirmed that Amazon is buying and destroying rare books to train AI. Books are torn into pages in warehouses in Las Vegas, raising concerns about the preservation of cultural heritage." date: 2026-08-19T00:24:42.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/digital-cannibalism-amazon-destroys-rare-books-to-train-ai tags: [amazon, artificial-intelligence, rare-books, ai-training, cultural-heritage] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Digital Cannibalism: Amazon Destroys Rare Books to Train AI ![Antique books on a shelf, symbolizing the destruction of rare editions by Amazon for AI training](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/19/amazon-unichtozhaet-redkie-knigi-dlya-obucheniya-ii/amazon-unichtozhaet-redkie-knigi-dlya-obucheniya-ii-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - Amazon buys rare books to train AI and destroys them after scanning - An investigation using an AirTag tracker led to a warehouse in Las Vegas - Books are torn into pages to facilitate the digitization process - Amazon's competitors deny using antique books to train models In August 2026, a new scandal erupted concerning the ethical norms of artificial intelligence development. Journalists from 404 Media conducted an investigation that confirmed the dark suspicions of bibliophiles and historians: tech giants, specifically Amazon, are buying rare and antique books on the open market not for resale, but for subsequent destruction. The goal of this operation is to extract text content for training neural networks, while the physical carriers of information are subjected to barbaric processing. ### Investigation via AirTag: The Book's Path to the Warehouse To verify the hypothesis of mass destruction of printed editions, journalists used an unconventional tracking method. They approached a book seller and asked to include one copy of a rare edition, to which an Apple AirTag tracker was attached, in a large batch of ordered goods. The route of this copy led the journalists to an Amazon warehouse complex in Las Vegas. According to the investigation data, active work on training AI models is taking place at this facility. Visual confirmation of the warehouse's purpose was found on its door: an image of a T-Rex ready to tear a book to shreds became an ironic, yet accurate reflection of the enterprise's activities. ### Mechanics of Destruction and Amazon's Position The process of processing books in warehouses, such as the VGT3 facility in Las Vegas, is described as extremely aggressive. To facilitate scanning, books are literally torn apart into individual pages. Amazon representatives, commenting on the situation, stated that purchasing books on the open market is necessary for "improving products and services." The company did not go into details about the fate of physical carriers, however, the actual destruction of rare editions gives developers an advantage in the quality of input data for neural networks. While competitors such as Anthropic and xAI have publicly disavowed the use of antique books, Amazon continues this practice, unwilling to publicize the details. ### Economic and Personnel Aspects of "Book Eating" The investigation revealed that the selection of books for procurement is based on scanning ISBN barcodes containing information about the print run. Priority is given to rare editions that may have historical value but have low market liquidity. Book sellers receive significant profit from selling such lots to companies training AI. Inside the warehouses, the situation is also ambiguous: employees of the VGT3 facility discussed the problem of a shortage of books on forums, fearing layoffs if the flow of orders stops. At the same time, the staff does not experience moral qualms about the barbaric treatment of books, noting only the flexible working hours. ### Cultural Risks and Public Reaction The situation has sparked a heated discussion in the professional community and on platforms like Reddit. Critics of the process call it the "washing out" of historical facts from public space. If rare editions are destroyed and their digital content remains in the closed infrastructure of AI providers, access to unique information for researchers and the public may be lost forever. For now, books representing limited monetary value are falling into the "grindstone," but their cultural and historical significance may be disproportionate to the profit from training the neural network. ## πŸ” Fact-Check Verification - [Experiment confirms Amazon destroys rare books after AI training window-new](https://3dnews.ru/1146977/eksperiment-podtverdil-chto-amazon-zakupaet-redkie-knigi-dlya-obucheniya-ii) - Основной источник ΠΈΠ½Ρ„ΠΎΡ€ΠΌΠ°Ρ†ΠΈΠΈ ΠΎ расслСдовании 404 Media ΠΈ дСталях экспСримСнта с AirTag. - [American company caught destroying hundreds of rare books for AI training](https://oxu.az/ru/ikt/amerikanskuyu-kompaniyu-ulichili-v-unichtozhenii-soten-redkih-knig-radi-obucheniya-ii) - ΠŸΠΎΠ΄Ρ‚Π²Π΅Ρ€ΠΆΠ΄Π΅Π½ΠΎ ΠΏΠΎ источнику oxu.az - [404 Media: Amazon buys rare books, scans them for AI, and destroys them](https://news.mail.ru/society/72039518/) - ΠŸΠΎΠ΄Ρ‚Π²Π΅Ρ€ΠΆΠ΄Π°Π΅Ρ‚ Ρ„Π°ΠΊΡ‚Ρ‹ ΠΎ ΠΏΠΎΠΊΡƒΠΏΠΊΠ΅ ΠΈ ΡƒΠ½ΠΈΡ‡Ρ‚ΠΎΠΆΠ΅Π½ΠΈΠΈ ΠΊΠ½ΠΈΠ³, Π° Ρ‚Π°ΠΊΠΆΠ΅ ΠΊΠΎΠΌΠΌΠ΅Π½Ρ‚Π°Ρ€ΠΈΠΈ сотрудников склада. - [Amazon buys and destroys rare books for AI training](https://www.newsru.co.il/science_hitech/17aug2026/amazon_0019.html) - ΠŸΠΎΠ΄Ρ‚Π²Π΅Ρ€ΠΆΠ΄Π΅Π½ΠΎ ΠΏΠΎ источнику newsru.co.il ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: Why is Amazon buying rare books? **A:** The company uses texts from rare editions to train its AI models to improve the quality of input data. ### Q: What happens to the books after purchase? **A:** Books are delivered to warehouses (e.g., in Las Vegas), where their pages are separated for scanning, after which the physical carriers are destroyed. ### Q: Have other companies confirmed such practices? **A:** Amazon's competitors, such as Anthropic and xAI, have publicly disavowed the use of antique books for AI training.