AI Companies Reportedly Destroying Antique Books After Scanning Them for Training Data

West Africa WeeklyJuly 31, 20261 Mins read302

A troubling report has emerged claiming that artificial intelligence companies are purchasing antique books in bulk, scanning them for training data, and then destroying the physical copies. The claim was shared on X by user @lidolmix, who reposted a statement from Pop Crave, a popular entertainment and news aggregator. The post quickly garnered significant attention, amassing over 491,000 views within hours of being shared.

The practice, if confirmed, raises serious concerns among historians, archivists and bibliophiles, who warn that the destruction of rare and antique books represents an irreversible loss of cultural heritage. Unlike digital copies, which can be altered, corrupted or lost due to technological obsolescence, physical books serve as tangible records of human history and knowledge. The deliberate destruction of these artifacts for commercial purposes has been described by some as a form of cultural vandalism.

we’re losing the ancient texts….LITERALLY https://t.co/gXeUoe11YA

— AARON (@lidolmix) July 30, 2026

While the full extent of the practice remains unclear, the report highlights growing tensions between the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and the preservation of historical and cultural artifacts. AI companies have been known to scrape vast amounts of data from the internet, books and other sources to train their models, but the alleged destruction of physical copies marks a significant escalation. Critics argue that such practices prioritise corporate profit over the public good and call for greater regulation and transparency in how AI companies acquire and handle historical materials.