Post #4394341

2026-08-05 20:37 UTC

The thing the headlines keep skipping over in pursuit of outrage-clicks is that this is how you scan books in bulk. The spine is removed and the pages are fed through a high-speed scanner in sequence. And the books that these companies are scanning this way are not "rare" in the sense of Gutenberg bibles or first-editions of famous works. These are books that have been sitting untouched in libraries or warehouses for decades because nobody wants them and their alternative fate is simply to be pulped and recycled. AI companies aren't interested in quality, they're interested in quantity. It would indeed be nice if they'd release the results of doing these scans to the public, of course, but that's where copyright raises its head to ruin everything.

Replies (5)

@mesamunefire@piefed.social 2026-08-05 20:59

You are correct. Just want to add one thing, there MUCH easier ways now than those kind of setups. Its just not as cheap/accessible. I worked at a library and there is specific setups for certain kinds of books you cannot reproduce and still need to get a good scan in.

Open ##4394900
@spring_cedar_dust@reddthat.com 2026-08-05 23:12

www.youtube.com/watch?v=03ccxwNssmo www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLznMkyrCR4

Open ##4398473
@ivn@tarte.nuage-libre.fr 2026-08-05 23:39

I remember reading somewhere that there was a legal component to the destruction too. I’ll they destroy the original its a transformation form physical to digital but if they don’t it’s a copy which can be illegal.

Open ##4399104
@veniasilente@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2026-08-06 03:18

The thing the headlines keep skipping over in pursuit of outrage-clicks is that this is how you scan books in bulk. The spine is removed and the pages are fed through a high-speed scanner in sequence. Any particular reason why can’t you just rebind the book after? Even if it is with a different binding. (And no, I don’t mean I’ll take “capitalism” for an answer)

Open ##4403894
@jlow@slrpnk.net 2026-08-08 08:07

Of course this would be when they care about copyright when they obviously being ignore it when it suits them.

Open ##4441425