> It has been discovered that online used bookstores across Japan have been receiving a surge of large orders for books since around August of this year. Interviews with these bookstores reveal reports of "100 books sold per day" and "days where sales have increased fivefold," leading to widespread speculation within the industry that the orders are intended to collect training data for generative AI (artificial intelligence). Further investigation revealed records of over 50 tons of books being exported from Japan to the United States. Is it acceptable for books to be consumed and discarded for AI training?
[...]
> Nippon Television investigated using "Sayari," a tool that analyzes import and export data, and confirmed records that a group company of this major Japanese book distributor exported more than 50 tons of "JAPANESE BOOKS" to the US since last year. Assuming that all the books were heavy hardcovers (calculated at 500 grams), this would amount to the equivalent of 100,000 books.
Can we really trust these AI companies when they're basically assimilating human art and culture and everything, only to go on and destroy the evidence?
It's not as though they particularly care, and it's not as though bad press matters with a captured regulatory environment.
There's a general sense that librarians are preservationists. This is far from the truth. Most books get pulped within a few years of printing. Librarians are constantly discarding books that don't get checked out to make space for new books.
The book ceases to be a book right at the beginning of the extractive process.
ivanjermakov•48m ago
r_lee•47m ago
notaigenerated•32m ago
They didn't bother when it was a non-profit sponsored by Elon Musk.