Antiquarian bookstores gain new customers buying books in stacks | Berlingske (DK)

Antiquarian bookstores across Europe, including in Holland, Germany, and Spain, are experiencing a surge in demand from an unusual clientele. These new customers are purchasing books in large quantities, leading booksellers to suspect they are acting as intermediaries for artificial intelligence companies.

The motivation behind these bulk purchases appears to be the desire for content that predates the widespread use of AI in text generation. Older books are seen as valuable because they are free from what is being termed "AI-generated sloppiness" – errors or stylistic inconsistencies that can arise from AI-driven writing.

This trend highlights a growing concern within the AI industry about the quality and authenticity of training data. By acquiring vast numbers of older, human-authored books, AI firms may be attempting to build datasets that are perceived as more reliable and less prone to the perceived flaws of AI-generated text, creating a unique market for antiquarian dealers.