AI Companies Are Pulping Our Humanity
Hyperallergic published an opinion essay arguing that AI companies are accelerating cultural loss by bulk-buying out-of-print books, digitizing them, and then destroying the physical copies through “destructive scanning.” Citing a Futurism report by Frank Landymore published last Saturday, the piece describes ISBNdb supplying tech companies with purchases ranging from 1,000 to 1,000,000 volumes, after which a hydraulic cutting machine removes spines so pages can be scanned and pulped, potentially exploiting a legal loophole around copyright. The essay contrasts this practice with historical book destruction, referencing the 1553 execution of theologian Michael Servetus and the survival of only three copies of his The Restoration of Christianity, one held by the University of Edinburgh library. It also notes that publishers already destroy nearly 25% of works released each year for commercial reasons, arguing that AI-driven pulping uniquely “cannibalizes” culture to train large language models.
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This story was covered in Heritage Under Fire, Art Power Plays