European bookstores suspect AI firms of bulk-ordering obscure books for training data

Published Aug 12, 10:00 AM UTC

Independent bookstores in Europe, including Kennys Bookshop in Galway, Ireland, and shops in Berlin, have received massive online orders for thousands of obscure books that have not seen interest in years. Sellers suspect these acquisitions are made by AI companies seeking to expand training data for large language models (LLMs). The orders include odd combinations like a history of Connemara alongside a guide to Ireland's Special Savings Incentive Account, or outdated driving test manuals. This follows reports of AI firms using destructive scanners to digitize and shred millions of books. While some European nations have laws against book scanning, the German Publishers and Booksellers' Association believes the orders may be routed through local addresses as collection points for eventual bulk shipping to the US, where scanning may be permissible. The practice has sparked legal battles, with Meta, Nvidia, and Anthropic facing lawsuits over book piracy for AI training.