Canadian used bookstores suspect bulk purchases are for AI book-scanning operations
Used-book retailers in Canada say mysterious large orders may be from AI firms that scan and discard the titles to train language models.
Canadian second-hand booksellers are confronting a wave of large, unexplained orders that they fear are intended for AI training. The concern follows a lawsuit against Anthropic, which disclosed spending millions on physical books, cutting off spines, scanning the pages for its Claude model and then discarding the volumes. A recent probe found comparable shipments being sent to an Amazon warehouse in Las Vegas for “destructive scanning,” suggesting the practice may be widespread.
Toronto shop owner Peter Sellers recalled receiving a LinkedIn pitch from Innodata claiming to buy second-hand books in bulk, a request he dismissed until learning about the AI scanning controversy. Other retailers, such as Patrick Hempelmann of BMV Books, have seen Zoom Books purchase hundreds of old technical titles through AbeBooks, with the books routed to a fulfillment center in Wood Dale, Illinois. Zoom’s chief growth officer Reed Pannell, a former World of Books executive, denied selling to Anthropic but declined to name customers. Several sellers say they now screen bulk buyers closely, refusing sales unless the purchaser has a verifiable, non-AI purpose.
Why it matters
It highlights how AI development may be driving new demand for physical books, affecting small retailers and raising copyright concerns.
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