08-10-2026, 11:24 AM
Why is Anthropic destroying books?
Summary
The Guardian article by Kathryn James examines Anthropic’s controversial “Project Panama,” an effort to obtain high-quality books for training its Claude AI by purchasing physical copies, cutting and scanning them, and then destroying the originals. The author argues that Anthropic chose this approach partly because obtaining copyright permissions was more complicated, while a US court found that using legally acquired books to train an AI model did not itself constitute copyright infringement.
James warns that although the practice may be legally permissible, it treats books primarily as raw data rather than as cultural objects and risks reducing the role and value of human authors. She argues that the episode raises broader questions about copyright, preservation of human-created culture, and whether society is allowing AI companies to turn people from creators into consumers while appropriating the cultural and intellectual value of their work.
ARTICLE
Summary
The Guardian article by Kathryn James examines Anthropic’s controversial “Project Panama,” an effort to obtain high-quality books for training its Claude AI by purchasing physical copies, cutting and scanning them, and then destroying the originals. The author argues that Anthropic chose this approach partly because obtaining copyright permissions was more complicated, while a US court found that using legally acquired books to train an AI model did not itself constitute copyright infringement.
James warns that although the practice may be legally permissible, it treats books primarily as raw data rather than as cultural objects and risks reducing the role and value of human authors. She argues that the episode raises broader questions about copyright, preservation of human-created culture, and whether society is allowing AI companies to turn people from creators into consumers while appropriating the cultural and intellectual value of their work.
ARTICLE
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