AI firms suspected in bulk book orders
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The gist
Secondhand booksellers in UK and Ireland suspect AI firms behind 'strange' bulk orders. The mystery buyers may be scanning books for AI training data.
Background
AI companies need vast amounts of text to train their models, and books published before 2022 are seen as 'clean' data uncontaminated by AI-generated content. Recently, booksellers in the UK, Ireland, US, Australia, and Europe have reported unusual bulk orders of thematically random books, often at full price, leading to suspicions that AI firms are behind them. Reports from 404 Media and The Atlantic have highlighted this trend, and a court ruling in 2025 has brought attention to the issue.
How it unfolded
- Jan 2026The Washington Post revealed details of Anthropic's 'Project Panama,' a secret project involving a 'destructive scanning project' to digitize books worldwide.
- Jul 2026404 Media reported that AI companies are bulk-buying rare books published before 2022, using hydraulic cutters to slice off spines for scanning.
- Aug 12, 2026An Irish bookstore called Kennys flagged a 'bananas' order for 5,000 obscure titles, and similar reports emerged from Australia and Catalonia.
- Aug 15, 2026The Guardian reported that secondhand booksellers in the UK and Ireland suspect AI firms behind 'strange' bulk orders, with similar activity in the US, Australia, and Europe.
Who’s saying what
- Booksellers
- They suspect AI companies are buying books to scan and destroy for training data, as orders are thematically random and buyers pay full price without negotiating.
- AI companies
- No official comment from AI firms; some, like Anthropic, have been linked to projects involving book digitization, but they have not publicly confirmed these bulk purchases.
- Analysts
- The bulk orders could be part of a broader AI data acquisition strategy, but the exact identity of buyers remains unclear.
Still unverified
The exact identity of the buyers is unconfirmed; booksellers suspect AI companies but no direct evidence has been presented. Reports of books being destroyed are based on speculation and leaked documents, not confirmed by the companies involved.