Rare books destroyed as AI companies scan training data
AI companies are reportedly purchasing and scanning rare book editions to train their models, after which the physical works are destroyed. The method has drawn sharp criticism from archivists.
What happened?
AI companies are reportedly purchasing and scanning rare book editions to train their language models, after which the physical books are destroyed. By cutting off book spines and automating the scanning process, large volumes of text can be quickly fed into training databases. However, this means that unique physical copies of historical literature are lost forever.
Key facts
| Publicerat av | Dallas Express |
|---|---|
| Ämne | Destruktiv skanning av sällsynta böcker för AI-träning |
Why it matters
The scanning is performed to satisfy the enormous data requirements of AI models, but the destruction of physical originals has sparked an intense ethical debate. When historical works and rare editions are destroyed to create digital training data, irreplaceable material is lost. This raises questions regarding the balance between technological development and the preservation of cultural heritage.
Who is affected?
This affects AI developers, librarians, archivists, historians, and researchers. It also impacts the access of future generations to unique physical books and cultural heritage.
Impact on the EU
The EU's copyright and digitisation directives impose strict requirements on the preservation of cultural heritage. Methods involving the destruction of physical works for digitisation are in direct conflict with European principles of archiving and preservation.
What else you should know
The practice of destroying books during digitisation is often referred to as destructive scanning and is sometimes used to speed up the process. When applied to rare books, however, it draws strong criticism from librarians and archivists worldwide.
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