<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[A mysterious buying spree is unsettling Europe’s booksellersIndependent retailers are receiving vast orders for obscure titles, fuelling suspicions that tech companies are using them to train AI]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p>A mysterious buying spree is unsettling Europe’s booksellers<br />Independent retailers are receiving vast orders for obscure titles, fuelling suspicions that tech companies are using them to train AI.<br />Last May Tomás Kenny of famous Galway book retailer Kennys received what he describes as a “bananas” online order for 5,000 books. But it was less the scale of the order that caught his eye and more its eclectic selection.<br /><a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2026/08/10/a-mysterious-buying-spree-is-unsettling-europes-booksellers/" rel="nofollow noopener"><span>https://www.</span><span>irishtimes.com/world/europe/20</span><span>26/08/10/a-mysterious-buying-spree-is-unsettling-europes-booksellers/</span></a><br /><a href="https://mastodon.ie/tags/ai" rel="tag">#<span>ai</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.ie/tags/slurp" rel="tag">#<span>slurp</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.ie/tags/bookstodon" rel="tag">#<span>bookstodon</span></a></p>]]></description><link>https://forum.fedi.dk/topic/af59ea47-acc1-430d-959e-5bb64de1a768/a-mysterious-buying-spree-is-unsettling-europe-s-booksellersindependent-retailers-are-receiving-vast-orders-for-obscure-titles-fuelling-suspicions-that-tech-companies-are-using-them-to-train-ai</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Sat, 29 Aug 2026 21:34:55 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://forum.fedi.dk/topic/af59ea47-acc1-430d-959e-5bb64de1a768.rss" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><pubDate>Mon, 10 Aug 2026 07:15:35 GMT</pubDate><ttl>60</ttl><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to A mysterious buying spree is unsettling Europe’s booksellersIndependent retailers are receiving vast orders for obscure titles, fuelling suspicions that tech companies are using them to train AI on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 11:17:06 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p><span><a href="/user/patrickobeirne%40mastodon.ie">@<span>PatrickOBeirne</span></a></span> <br />Books to feed into AI then shred</p>]]></description><link>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.me.uk/users/Christo_459/statuses/117070930028413868</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.me.uk/users/Christo_459/statuses/117070930028413868</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[christo_459@mastodon.me.uk]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 10 Aug 2026 11:17:06 GMT</pubDate></item></channel></rss>