AI companies buy and destroy rare books for model training
AI companies reportedly purchased rare and used books in bulk through mystery buyer accounts at scale during 2026, then scanned and destroyed them at warehouses to train language models. Booksellers raised concerns about irreplaceable titles being destroyed and the legality and cultural impact of using copyrighted works without permission.
What happened
Starting in spring 2026, rare-book dealers in the US and Britain noticed a sudden surge in bulk orders for used and rare books through online marketplaces including Alibris, Biblio and Amazon.com.
The buyers used unusual project names including Red Sparrow Project, Blue Finch Project and Green Parrot Project, ordered dozens to hundreds of books at a time on unrelated subjects, routed them through logistics warehouses, and did not haggle over prices.
Investigation by journalist Emanuel Maiberg revealed that ordered books were being delivered to Amazon warehouses. Books were reportedly scanned and destroyed at industrial scale at facilities associated with AI companies.
Reported impact
Booksellers reported concern that irreplaceable and rare titles, including single-edition books that had not sold for years, were being destroyed for AI training data.
Allan Stypeck of Second Story Books expressed unease about whether the bulk purchases were pulling from circulation the last copies of scarce titles, and whether the books were serving purposes contradictory to the longevity of bookselling businesses.
Index analysis
AI companies have used printed books to train large language models after exhausting digitally available data. According to researchers, AI training on repetitive existing data causes 'model collapse', driving demand for new content sources.
Books are unique sources covering distinct times, places, cultures and audiences across centuries and languages, raising questions about the appropriateness and legality of their use without permission for commercial AI training.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.