Sellers puzzled by bulk orders suspect secondhand books being destroyed to train AI

A growing number of independent booksellers are expressing bewilderment over an unusual trend: large-scale orders for their books, often involving hundreds or even thousands of copies, are being dispatched to remote, unspecified warehouses. This phenomenon has led to speculation within the bookselling community that these novels might be destroyed to facilitate the training of artificial intelligence models. While the exact destination and purpose of these bulk shipments remain unclear, the consistent nature of the orders and their rapid fulfillment suggest a coordinated effort, prompting concerns among those who handle and sell these physical books. The lack of transparency surrounding these transactions has fueled the suspicion that the books are not intended for resale or consumption in the traditional sense, but rather for a more utilitarian purpose within the rapidly advancing field of AI development.