Hidden Airtag reveals Amazon is trashing rare books to train AI
An investigation using a hidden Airtag has confirmed that Amazon is purchasing rare books in bulk to destroy them for AI training data. The discovery has sparked backlash regarding the ethics of destroying physical media to advance frontier AI models.
Why it matters
This highlights the aggressive and often opaque methods tech giants use to acquire proprietary training data, raising concerns about intellectual property and cultural preservation.
Mystery solved Hidden Airtag reveals Amazon is trashing rare books to train AI Amazon’s team uses a T. rex preparing to devour a book as its logo.
15 Plus Plus Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav For the past year or so, booksellers have suspected that AI firms are buying up huge lots of rare books, then destroying them after scanning them to train AI. But this was hard to prove until now, as 404 Media reports that an Airtag hidden in a rare book shows that at least one tech giant, in the race to advance its frontier models, is behind some of the bulk orders: Amazon.
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