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Coverage dated August 12, 2026 to August 18, 2026

Amazon reportedly buying books to train AI services, then destroying them

Headline from The Oregonian, on the newest of 2 developments

Amazon is reportedly buying books and destroying them to help build out a new technology.

The Oregonian's own description from its feed. We collect headlines and these descriptions, not full articles; read the original reporting below.

Developments in this update

2 dated developments, oldest first, newest marked. Each is named by one outlet's own headline; open its reports to see every outlet that covered it.

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

    Headline from The Guardian ·

  2. Newest

    Amazon reportedly buying books to train AI services, then destroying them

    Headline from The Oregonian ·

3 reports not tied to one development ·

Read the reports

Reports & sources

11 articles, oldest first.

  1. Amac

    Why Are AI Companies Destroying Thousands of Rare Books? (opens Amac)

    Published

    Amac's feed description

    AI companies are buying up millions of rare books to scan the information contained within them - and destroying the books in the process.

  2. The Guardian

    Secondhand booksellers in UK and Ireland suspect AI firms behind ‘strange’ bulk orders (opens The Guardian)

    Published

    The Guardian's feed description

    Development comes after 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.

  3. BBC News

    Secondhand book sales are booming. Is it because of AI? (opens BBC News)

    Published

    BBC News's feed description

    Booksellers are reporting mysterious bulk orders. It's thought the books are being used to train AI - and ending up pulped.

  4. Digital Trends

    AI companies may be gobbling up old books, and I really hope they aren’t destroying them (opens Digital Trends)

    Published

    Digital Trends's feed description

    Booksellers across several countries are seeing unusual bulk orders for old and out-of-print books, and some suspect AI companies may be behind the buying spree.

  5. Fast Company

    AI companies are buying used books by the thousands. Some may be destroyed for training (opens Fast Company)

    Published

    Fast Company's feed description

    Not too many years ago, before the dawn of Kindles , used bookstores were a refuge for budget-minded, voracious readers. As the industry evolved, many suffered. Now they’re seeing a resurgence in sales, but the customers increasingly aren’t bookworms. They’re AI companies.

  6. The Oregonian

    Amazon reportedly buying books to train AI services, then destroying them (opens The Oregonian)

    Published

    The Oregonian's feed description

    Amazon is reportedly buying books and destroying them to help build out a new technology.

  7. Forbes

    AI Companies Are Buying—And Destroying—Antique Books. Here’s Why. (opens Forbes)

    Published

    Forbes's feed description

    Millions of physical books are being scanned to train AI models. They’re then dumped in the trash.

  8. Quartz

    Amazon is buying rare books and destroying them to train its AI models (opens Quartz)

    Published

    Quartz's feed description

    A 404 Media investigation tracked a rare book to an Amazon warehouse in Las Vegas where workers cut spines off books to scan them

Identical headlines usually mean shared wire copy. They are counted as separate articles but are not independent confirmation.

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