Amazon scans and destroys books for AI training in Las Vegas

Reports from 404 Media reveal that an Amazon facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, known as VGT3, is being used to scan and subsequently destroy books to gather data for training artificial intelligence systems.

According to testimony from an anonymous employee, the process involves mechanically cutting the spines off books—including new, used, and library copies—to separate the pages. These pages are then fed into high-speed scanners. Once the content is digitized, the physical pages are discarded into large containers as loose paper, making it impossible to reconstruct the original volumes.

The materials processed include publications in various languages, such as German, Russian, and Japanese, as well as documents from the United Kingdom and potentially government materials. The employee noted that the process appeared disorganized and that the presence of rare or difficult-to-find books was observed during operations.