Amazon linked to destruction of rare books for AI training via hidden tracker

A bookseller suspected for months that AI companies were purchasing large quantities of rare books, scanning them, and then destroying them to train artificial intelligence models. This suspicion gained new evidence when 404 Media revealed that an Airtag, planted in a rare book by a bookseller, was tracked to an Amazon AI training facility in Las Vegas. The facility, identified as VGT3, housed a team responsible for removing books from their spines and scanning their pages. A logo on the warehouse door depicted a Tyrannosaurus rex about to devour a book, highlighting the facility’s role in the process. Amazon did not comment on the findings, providing the same statement it gave to 404 Media, which does not specifically mention AI training. The incident has sparked further backlash against the practice of destructive book scanning for AI development.