404 Media reported on 2026-08-26 that Amazon operates a facility called VGT3 where employees destructively scan books—including brand new and used copies—to obtain data for AI model training, cutting spines and processing thousands of volumes. The practice raises concerns about copyright infringement and the scale of data collection for artificial intelligence development.
On August 17, 2026, 404 Media reported that it tracked a shipment of rare books to an Amazon facility in Las Vegas where the company scans and destroys them for AI training. The facility reportedly spends all day cutting spines off and scanning books, acquiring inventory through bulk purchases.
An AirTag tracking device discovered inside a book revealed that Amazon is throwing away rare books to use as training data for artificial intelligence systems. The discovery was reported by Ars Technica on August 17, 2026.