Amazon Scans and Destroys Books for AI Training in Las Vegas

Amazon's AI book operation revealed

Amazon is purchasing books in bulk, digitizing their contents for artificial intelligence training, and destroying the physical copies at a warehouse in North Las Vegas, according to an investigation by 404 Media.

The operation takes place at Amazon's LAS8 fulfillment center on North Nicco Way, where a specialized unit called VGT3 handles the scanning and destruction process. Investigators confirmed the facility's purpose by embedding an Apple AirTag in a shipment of approximately 1,000 books sold through Biblio, an online marketplace for used and rare volumes.

The VGT3 unit features a Tyrannosaurus rex logo holding an open book at its entrance. Workers scan each book's ISBN barcode before digitizing its pages, then shred the original. Amazon confirmed to 404 Media and Inc. that it "purchases books through commercial channels to help develop and improve the products and services our customers use."

Pattern of systematic acquisition

Booksellers began noticing unusual purchasing patterns nearly two years ago. In September 2024, sellers on Amazon's forums reported sudden spikes in orders destined for the Las Vegas facility. One seller received 68 orders from a single buyer account that purchased books daily.

The orders show no thematic coherence—buyers appear interested only in acquiring books with ISBN codes rather than specific titles or subjects. The ISBN system, which assigns unique identifiers to published books, allows AI companies to systematically work through the global catalog of published works.

Booksellers across the United States and Europe have reported similar bulk purchases from buyers showing no interest in literary or commercial value, according to TechTimes.

Legal precedent and industry practice

Amazon is not alone in this approach. Court documents from the copyright lawsuit Bartz v. Anthropic revealed that AI company Anthropic ran "Project Panama," described in internal documents as "our effort to destructively scan all the books in the world."

In June 2025, U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled that converting lawfully purchased physical books into digital AI training files constitutes transformative fair use under copyright law. However, because Anthropic settled rather than appealed, the ruling does not create binding precedent for other courts.

Anthropic also downloaded more than seven million pirated copies of books beyond its legal purchases, leading to a $1.5 billion settlement.

Why it matters

The systematic destruction of physical books for AI training data represents a fundamental shift in how technology companies acquire knowledge for machine learning systems. While the practice may currently fall within fair use protections for lawfully purchased materials, it raises questions about preserving rare editions and the cultural value of physical books beyond their text content. For publishers and authors, this creates a secondary market for their work that generates no royalties, even as their content trains commercial AI systems worth billions of dollars.

Divided response from book trade

Booksellers hold mixed views on the trend. Stuart Manley of Barter Books in England told the BBC he has sold books that sat unsold for 20 years, calling it unprecedented demand in three decades of business.

But Derek Walker of McNaughtan's in Scotland expressed concern about rare volumes. He recently sold the only known copy of an 18th century edition and warned that destruction of such irreplaceable books "would be a much more significant problem."

These details were first reported by 404 Media, which conducted the tracking investigation that identified the North Las Vegas facility's purpose.