Amazon's recent practice of tearing apart old and rare books to train its AI models has sparked outrage. Critics argue that this action betrays the brand’s origins as a bookstore and undermines its claim as 'Earth's biggest bookstore.' Workers at Amazon's LAS8 warehouse in Las Vegas reportedly cut book bindings for faster scanning, while celebrating with a logo depicting a T-Rex consuming a tome—a fitting image for a company now devoured by its own technology.

The destruction of rare books not only erodes brand image but also alienates authors and bibliophiles. While courts may rule such practices as 'fair use,' the ethical implications are clear: Amazon is trading in cultural artifacts without regard for their intrinsic value. Meanwhile, competitors like Anthropic claim to avoid using rare or antique books, making Amazon’s approach particularly reckless.

Amazon defends its actions by stating that it purchases books through commercial channels to develop and improve products and services. However, this justification falls flat given the historical and intellectual significance of these texts. Non-destructive scanning or licensing digital archives could serve the same purpose without damaging cultural heritage. The question remains: can technology truly respect history?