Secondhand book sales are booming. Is it because of AI?
Booksellers are reporting mysterious bulk orders. It's thought the books are being used to train AI - and ending up pulped.
Secondhand book sales have surged recently, with booksellers worldwide reporting massive orders for their titles. The phenomenon may be linked to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), as suggested by a 2025 US court ruling. This decision allowed AI firms to use books for training AI software without violating copyright laws, as determined by a judge in the Anthropic case.
The ruling was based on Anthropic's argument that their use of books was "exceedingly transformative" and thus permitted under US law. Additionally, it was revealed that some of these books were being destroyed during the AI training process. Booksellers such as Stuart Manley from Barter Books in Northumberland have observed these unusual bulk orders, which they cannot fully explain.
They range from obscure Latin texts to cowboy novels, indicating that rare and diverse materials may be in demand for AI development. Experts note that the court ruling in the US has influenced copyright laws in the UK, where permission from copyright owners is still required for such acts. While some booksellers see the destruction of books as a potential loss, others believe recycling is a viable solution for titles no longer in demand.
Written by urgent.news from BBC World's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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