Anthropic shredded millions of books to teach its AI

There is a lot of discourse about the relevance and importance of books in society today. As literacy rates among adults, kids, and teens drop, AI companies like Anthropic are scanning rare books to train AI models. Court filings and reporting on “Project Panama” describe millions of used books bought in bulk from secondhand sellers and distributors starting in early 2024. The scanning method destroyed them. Spines were cut off, pages were fed through scanners, and the remains were recycled.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup issued a landmark split ruling in [Bartz v. Anthropic] that found AI training on legally obtained books is fair use, but acquiring those same works from pirate sites constitutes copyright infringement. Anthropic’s downloading of ~7 million pirated eBooks was not found to be fair use, leading to a $1.5 billion settlement with authors.

Books are becoming obsolete, while literacy rates remain concerningly low. Reading is more important now than ever, in an age when many people have become increasingly reliant on and addicted to technology.

In the U.S., print book sales rose about 0.5% in 2024 and 0.3% in 2025, and have been flat so far in 2026. Book sales have remained fairly stagnant since the slight rise in popularity of reading post-2020. Despite the slight uptick in book sales, people are still reading less and less. The rise of artificial intelligence has pushed people of all ages further and further away from reading, analyzing, and thinking critically.

The increase in book sales over the past few years unfortunately hasn’t been enough to combat the literacy crisis or the ever-growing number of people who rely on ChatGPT to do their thinking for them, known as cognitive offloading. Artificial intelligence is perhaps unlike any technological innovation that came before it. Instead of simply making our lives easier, it is doing for people what people have done since the beginning of time: thinking for themselves.

This is a problem for many reasons. Most notably, if the general public loses the ability to think, then they lose their intellectual autonomy. Becoming reliant on generative AI to give you the answers to the simplest of questions renders you unable to understand what you read. It therefore takes away the ability to make one’s own decisions. A study by Microsoft researchers, in collaboration with researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, found that those who use generative AI consistently and are confident in the results show reduced critical-thinking ability. However, this was a self-report survey; it didn’t measure cognition or track anyone over time.

An MIT Media Lab EEG study (“Your Brain on ChatGPT,” June 2025, 54 participants, preprint) was small and not peer-reviewed.

Generative AI is especially concerning for school-aged children, who already struggle with overreliance on technology for education and entertainment (think about how many toddlers you see glued to iPads at restaurants). If adults are losing the ability to read and think because of ChatGPT, what kind of effect could it have on developing minds? What we could potentially be left with is an entire generation of people whose cognitive functioning is permanently stunted because they never had to do any thinking for themselves.

Thankfully, parents, educators, and those in power are taking the risks of artificial intelligence more seriously. New York City recently banned the use of generative AI for students up to eighth grade, a year-long moratorium on AI models like ChatGPT in the classroom. However, it is not a permanent ban on future use of such technology.

Once the moratorium ends, the city said a Technology in Schools Coalition will evaluate the year and issue recommendations, and it has not announced what will follow.

The moratorium will most likely give educators at least some time to learn more about the effects of artificial intelligence and how to combat the rampant abuse of generative AI among students. The problem with this is that AI is constantly evolving and “learning.” No one can say what AI will be capable of even a year from now, let alone five to ten years in the future.

Teachers, educators, and literacy advocates have stressed the importance of reading in kids’ education for decades, even more so now with the decline in literacy and the rise of artificial intelligence. Many people worldwide are well aware of the importance of literacy for kids. The late American country icon Dolly Parton is remembered not only for her music, but also for her generous contributions to ensuring kids have access to books through her program, the Imagination Library.

Even with efforts like these, the war on literacy hasn’t stopped; it has simply changed shape in the form of technological reliance and artificial intelligence. As we enter a potentially post-literate society, what can be done to preserve literacy?

While the rise of AI may feel like the end of reading and critical thinking, that remains a far-fetched scenario that can be prevented with the right actions. Technology like computers and phones is not necessarily the cause of the literacy crisis; however, relying on electronics to teach is a major contributor. Over the past decade, kids have been slowly weaned off paper-and-pencil learning in favor of completing most of their lessons and homework online.

The ongoing trend of using technology as a crutch perhaps may lead to an entire generation unwilling and avoidant of picking up a book, either for school or for fun. Exposing kids to books early on and keeping that exposure consistent as they grow sets them up for a lifetime of strong literacy skills and a sense of adventure and curiosity.

Reading isn’t just important to kids; it’s important for people of all ages. Reading is associated with stronger cognitive function and a lower risk of dementia and dementia-related conditions later in life. You might notice that if you spend a lot of time scrolling on social media, your attention span isn’t what it used to be.

Getting back into reading is a great way to reintroduce your brain to slowing down and actually paying attention to the information that it’s absorbing, instead of passively scrolling in search of a quick 30 seconds of entertainment. Reading is how we learn. It is how we have connected with others since written language was first invented. It can’t be replaced by a computer screen or an AI chatbot; it remains a key part of human history and the human experience, even as AI remains prevalent and pervasive.

Collective efforts to bring back reading is one of the most important things we can do to maintain literacy. Combating the literacy crisis and AI is a daunting endeavor, but intentional changes to your lifestyle make a huge difference, both in your life and the world.  ‘

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