The Grand Book Inferno: AI Edition
So there are these AI companies, right? They’ve gone ahead and started acquiring books by the truckload, digitizing every last one and then tossing the originals into a shredder. It’s supposedly all for “model training” – whatever works for them. Anyway, a slew of advocacy groups have had enough and are urging the FTC to take notice and investigate.
The Disappearance of Titles
This all began with Bartz v. Anthropic PBC, where authors got riled up over Anthropic’s covert book scanning antics. It turns out they had a scheme, code-named “Project Panama” – and no, it’s not a questionable new dance move. They aimed to scan every book on the planet and then give them a thorough shredding. Charming, isn’t it?
Ancient Texts as the New Currency
It seems those neglected old books are pure gold for AI – free from machine-generated nonsense. Annihilating the books means zero storage expenses – those AI folks are always planning ahead. But don’t sweat it, they sometimes label it as “fair use.” Try explaining that to the Internet Archive, though – didn’t quite play out for them.
Amazon Enters the Book-Destruction Club
Not wanting to be left behind, Amazon has also jumped into the book-slicing game. Scanning and shredding like there’s no tomorrow. None of them are keen to discuss it though – must be preoccupied with crafting their own sinister catalogs.
Public Relations Nightmare
As you can imagine, there’s quite a bit of uproar surrounding this. There’s something rather ‘totalitarian’ about eliminating books, and the public isn’t exactly thrilled with AI companies hoarding our collective resources for their benefit.
Middlemen Getting Singed
ISBNdb, one of the intermediaries in the book-acquiring frenzy, have pulled back faster than a cyclist down a steep slope. They’ve taken down a page regarding book sourcing for AI, claiming they’re heading down a different, less destructive route now.
Civil Society Organizations Call for Accountability
These disclosures have led several groups to demand an FTC investigation. They believe these AI titans are engaged in unsavory practices, hoarding knowledge and leaving the rest of us with nothing. Kate Oh from the Demand Progress Education Fund has been vocal about “real smoke” and the need for the FTC to take a look.
Consolidated Knowledge and What Lies Ahead
According to these organizations, the book-annihilating AI rulers are monopolizing knowledge, creating a reality where the affluent thrive and the rest of us receive… well, not much. They’re concerned that there may be no physical copies left of certain books sacrificed for the AI agenda.
Unanswered Questions
The groups have even prompted the FTC to investigate whether the obliterated physical books are the final remnants. But how can you ascertain when these AI giants keep their data more hidden than a Geordie’s wallet on a night out?
Conclusion: Burn After Reading?
In summary, these AI companies are treating books like gym weights – hoisting them up, digitizing them, and then discarding them without a second thought. Advocacy groups are in a tizzy, wanting the FTC to intervene and rectify the situation. Meanwhile, we mere mortals are left pondering whether our beloved paperbacks will become Kindle scraps – and how soon until the next book-burning celebration arrives at our bookstores?
