When a Wellington bookseller realises that a mysterious and avaricious foreign buyer is AI giant Anthropic:
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When a Wellington bookseller realises that a mysterious and avaricious foreign buyer is AI giant Anthropic:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/life/books/wellington-second-hand-book-store-s-mysterious-orders
"Our role is to keep books alive, to keep them in the world."
@JulianOliver https://slope2-game.com/ It’s an interesting situation, especially when a small independent bookstore suddenly finds itself dealing with a major AI company as a buyer. The quote about keeping books alive really captures why independent bookstores still matter. I hope this brings more attention to the value of preserving and supporting local book communities.
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When a Wellington bookseller realises that a mysterious and avaricious foreign buyer is AI giant Anthropic:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/life/books/wellington-second-hand-book-store-s-mysterious-orders
"Our role is to keep books alive, to keep them in the world."
@JulianOliver Not at all suspicious …
These book destroyers belong on the lowest levels of hell, honestly. And I’m not even religious. 🤬
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When a Wellington bookseller realises that a mysterious and avaricious foreign buyer is AI giant Anthropic:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/life/books/wellington-second-hand-book-store-s-mysterious-orders
"Our role is to keep books alive, to keep them in the world."
@JulianOliver A true hero. How many books are already gone? How many people have a price they are willing to sell at? At some point, they will own all of our knowledge and we will have to pay to learn to live.
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When a Wellington bookseller realises that a mysterious and avaricious foreign buyer is AI giant Anthropic:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/life/books/wellington-second-hand-book-store-s-mysterious-orders
"Our role is to keep books alive, to keep them in the world."
@JulianOliver Nazis destroy books, LLM's destroy books, therefore LLM's are Nazis
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When a Wellington bookseller realises that a mysterious and avaricious foreign buyer is AI giant Anthropic:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/life/books/wellington-second-hand-book-store-s-mysterious-orders
"Our role is to keep books alive, to keep them in the world."
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When a Wellington bookseller realises that a mysterious and avaricious foreign buyer is AI giant Anthropic:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/life/books/wellington-second-hand-book-store-s-mysterious-orders
"Our role is to keep books alive, to keep them in the world."
Headline: Galway Bookseller Suspects 'Scattergun' Order Is For AI
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Headline: Galway Bookseller Suspects 'Scattergun' Order Is For AI
@GracelessHippo "Suspicious" of a highly-eclectic order of 5k books, but still sold them to the mystery buyer? If so, that's a bit disappointing!
Thanks for sharing, in any case.
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@GracelessHippo "Suspicious" of a highly-eclectic order of 5k books, but still sold them to the mystery buyer? If so, that's a bit disappointing!
Thanks for sharing, in any case.
The entire story just struck me as odd when it broke on Ireland's news online channel last night. I did not post this to place criticism at the door of any small business fulfilling such an order.
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The entire story just struck me as odd when it broke on Ireland's news online channel last night. I did not post this to place criticism at the door of any small business fulfilling such an order.
More, the fact that AI companies are doing this around the world shows that they (those behind it, not AI/LLMs) know it's shady AF.
They, the owners and distributors of AI, absolutely deserve criticism /dissent/ insert your expletive of choice here.
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More, the fact that AI companies are doing this around the world shows that they (those behind it, not AI/LLMs) know it's shady AF.
They, the owners and distributors of AI, absolutely deserve criticism /dissent/ insert your expletive of choice here.
@GracelessHippo Economic precariousness, if truly at play here, may rightly unsettle any casting of blame.
However, it remains difficult to reconcile the love and selling of books knowing that the buyer will destroy them. Worse, in doing so, feeding the very thing that threatens the legacy (and future, if living) of those authors; perhaps writing & reading books as a whole.
It seems to me ethically more troubling than, say, selling antiques only for them to be smashed on the shop doorstep
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J jwcph@helvede.net shared this topic
