AI is eating the world’s books
Sep 28, 2026 •
A rare old book can now be worth more dead than alive.
Books are being bought, cut apart and scanned to train artificial intelligence.
Nobody knows how many books have been destroyed this way, but second-hand booksellers around the world have reported anonymous orders ranging from thousands to as many as a million books at a time.
And internal documents from AI giant Anthropic revealed plans to “destructively scan all the books in the world”.
Today, author Sarah Wilson on the destruction of knowledge to build artificial intelligence.
If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.
AI is eating the world’s books
2058 • Sep 28, 2026
AI is eating the world’s books
A rare old book can now be worth more dead than alive.
Books are being bought, cut apart and scanned to train artificial intelligence.
Nobody knows how many books have been destroyed this way, but second-hand booksellers around the world have reported anonymous orders ranging from thousands to as many as a million books at a time.
And internal documents from AI giant Anthropic revealed plans to “destructively scan all the books in the world”.
Today, author Sarah Wilson on the destruction of knowledge to build artificial intelligence.
If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.
Guest: Author Sarah Wilson
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7am is a daily show from Solstice Media.
It’s made by Atticus Bastow, Chris Dengate, Daniel James, Krystal Keller, Ranee Orklin, Ruby Jones, Travis Evans and Zoltan Fecso.
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