Amazon Tracked Destroying Rare Books for AI Training Data: 404 Media

james_mtc · x · 2026-08-17

An investigation by 404 Media reveals that Amazon is acquiring massive quantities of books, scanning them for AI training data, and destroying them in the process.

By planting a tracking device in a rare book, journalists traced the shipment to an Amazon facility (VGT3) in Las Vegas. Employees at this facility report cutting the bindings off books to scan them more efficiently, effectively destroying the physical originals. The facility's logo features a dinosaur holding a book. Amazon confirmed purchasing books to develop and improve products, sparking concerns over the preservation of physical media.

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