The Only Way To Deal With AI’s Book Destruction Is To Print More Books – The Dorset Book Detective

The big story recently that AI companies have been bulk buying second hand books, then ripping off the spines, feeding the data into their models and the pulping the books, should come as no surprise to anyone sensible.

After all, these companies have already looted the entire Internet, in a relatively short space of time, and already their models are struggling. AI models trained om AI generated data face an issue called ‘model collapse’, where the AIs start to generate nonsensical responses.

That’s already been happening, as evidenced countless times across the Internet.

While this might seem hilarious- and don’t get me wrong, it absolutely is- it’s also dangerous, and can cause a legal minefield. After all, AI models have already been caught making serious false accusations, like saying that folk singer Ashley MacIsaac was a sex offender- he isn’t.

The tech companies don’t care about the real-world implications of this for the victims, but more that they could potentially be sued.

That’s why they’re desperately trying to fend off model collapse by looking for new sources of original data. Many companies have started making staff where headsets so they can capture what they’re doing and train models with it, and the same goes for the footage captured by AI-powered glasses.

Since that’s still not enough to stave off the inevitable failure of this deeply flawed but highly expensive tech, companies have started buying and trashing secondhand books.

As I’ve said before, minor damage to physical books is inevitable but deliberately breaking them for your own ends isn’t right. Books are a source of knowledge and should be treated with respect.

Since there’s very little way to stop AI companies, since they’re backed by governments and extremely wealthy individuals, the best way to fight back is to read more physical books.

Reading is generally good for you, especially in the age of AI and misinformation, and as we’ve seen that electronic devices such as Kindles aren’t reliable, as they are controlled by corporations, the way forward is physical books.

While reading new books is always fun, there is the risk that AI has been used in their making, with even major writers like Anthony Horowitz admitting to using it, so I’d argue that the best thing readers can do is drive up the used book market, particularly older books.

Buying second hand books is fun and there are some amazing authors that have been consigned to the history books just because their writing wasn’t deemed popular enough. Whether it was due to a lack of representation in other media, like is the case with the Sir Clinton Driffield books, or because of an oversaturation of spies and outdated views, as with the Bulldog Drummond stories, many amazing writers have gone out of print too early.

By driving up demand, readers can push the publishing industry to start bringing back older publications that have long been shelved, and help to fight back against AI.

It’s a small thing, but it can really help. I’d recommend using second hand book sites- World Of Books isn’t very good, but Awesome Books is, and I’d also recommend trying eBay for really old copies- or physical book stores to find new favourites from old back catalogues.

Once you’ve found a series you like, see who originally published it. If they’re still around, or have been bought up by another company, reach out and ask if they have old records and see if you can push for another print run.

Another solution is to check out your local library and start ordering books through that. Libraries are a great source of older books and if you and others drive up demand then you can help influence trends that will get back to publishers and potentially push them to start reprinting.

It’ll take time, but I feel that making the most of older books and reading series that have gone out of print will not only be fun for readers, but also a great way to fight back against AI companies and their wanton destruction of the written word.

So, let’s spread the mission and start pushing for more physical book printing and revivals of out of print works.