Secondhand booksellers across the UK and Ireland have reported an influx of bulk purchases from unidentified buyers, fueling speculation that artificial intelligence companies are acquiring printed books for use as training data.
The unusual ordering pattern has also been observed internationally, with booksellers in the US, Australia and Europe telling of similar transactions. The purchases reportedly come from buyers based in the US, Canada, continental Europe and the UK.
The development follows an earlier disclosure that AI company Anthropic had spent millions of dollars acquiring books to scan, a practice described as “data acquisition.” Booksellers suspect the latest wave of bulk orders may be part of the same trend.