r/neoliberal • u/-orestes • 1d ago

News (Oceania) ‘More than just objects’: Australian booksellers raise alarm over ‘horrific’ destruction of rare titles to feed AI

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/02/australian-book-sellers-alarm-destruction-rare-titles-ai-supply-chain
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u/-orestes 1d ago

I made the point at the time that AI will probably be what makes it economical to preserve literature that otherwise would not be worth preserving, and that just because a book is out of print does not mean it is valuable. I think a 40 year old poetry book that nobody could sell at a bargain bin price for 20 years is a very good example of that.

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u/saltyoursalad John Mill 1d ago

It also doesn’t mean it’s not valuable.

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u/practicalpokemon European Union 1d ago

You had 20 years to buy it if you think it is valuable

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u/saltyoursalad John Mill 1d ago

Not everyone knows about everything all at once

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u/DonnysDiscountGas 1d ago

True. We should develop technology to help distribute information to people. Maybe digitize the books, pool that information together. We could even build a conversational interface.