Key facts
- Anthropic has purchased physical books in bulk from a Japanese distributor.
- Japanese publishers are concerned the books may have been destroyed after scanning for AI training.
- Nippan Group Holdings confirmed the sales to Anthropic.
- The wholesaler stated it was unaware the books were intended for AI training.
- The Japan Book Publishers Association questioned the sales without publisher permission.
Japanese publishers have expressed anger over Anthropic's bulk purchases of books from a distributor, reigniting a debate on author rights in the context of AI training data. The U.S. artificial intelligence company's acquisition of secondhand texts suggests a strategy to acquire material for digitizing and training its AI models.
A major Japanese book wholesaler, Nippan Group Holdings Inc., has confirmed it sold a large number of books to Anthropic. The confirmation came in response to a letter from the Japan Book Publishers Association, which sought clarification on the transactions. Concerns are mounting within the publishing industry that the books may have been destroyed after their spines were cut for scanning purposes to create digital data for AI training.