Technology
Amazon employee details book scanning and destruction at Las Vegas warehouse
A report reveals operations at an Amazon facility where worker claims suggest physical books are destroyed after scanning for artificial intelligence training.
The short version
- An Amazon employee interviewed by 404 Media described the process at Amazon's VGT3 facility in Las Vegas, where book spines are cut and pages are scanned before disposal.
- The employee stated that while workers were initially told the scanning was for Kindles, they later concluded the scanned material is being used to train AI models.
- The process has raised concerns from the employee about copyright, the permanent loss of rare or obscure books, and waste.
Key facts
- An Amazon worker at the VGT3 warehouse in Las Vegas, Nevada, detailed an operation where books are systematically scanned and destroyed.[Slashdot]
- The VGT3 warehouse shares a facility with Amazon's LAS8 print-on-demand business.[Slashdot]
- According to the employee, workers operate individual workstations to cut off the spines of books, scan the individual pages, and discard the loose paper into waste shuttles.[Slashdot]
What remains uncertain
- The employee stated they saw the scanning was for AI and did not believe initial claims that it was for Kindles, but Amazon's official confirmation or specific AI program details remain unverified in the text.[Slashdot]