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Anthropic reportedly destroys rare books after scanning, pulping remains
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A satirical McSweeney's essay personifies the destructive scanning practice reported in a copyright lawsuit against Anthropic, where physical books are sliced, scanned, and pulped.
For engineers building AI training pipelines, this highlights a legal and ethical risk in sourcing text data from physical books. The practice, if confirmed, could lead to the loss of unique cultural artifacts and legal challenges for companies that destroy copyrighted works.
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The Guardian reports that unsealed court files from a copyright lawsuit against Anthropic reveal the company engaged in destructive scanning.
The practice involves buying physical books, shearing off spines, scanning pages, and pulping the remains.
The McSweeney's article satirizes the process through a character who destroys the books after scanning.
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