AI is eating the world’s books

A rare old book can now be worth more dead than alive. Books are being bought, cut apart and scanned to train artificial intelligence. Nobody knows how many books have been destroyed this way, but second-hand booksellers around the world have reported anonymous orders ranging from thousands to as many as a million books at a time. And internal documents from AI giant Anthropic revealed plans to “destructively scan all the books in the world”. Today, author Sarah Wilson on the destruction of knowledge to build artificial intelligence. If you enjoy 7am , the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support . Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Author Sarah Wilson Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.