cross-posted from: https://kbin.earth/m/piracy@lemmy.dbzer0.com/t/3120649
As AI tech companies increasingly buy and destroy books to feed to their AI models, Anna’s Archive is calling for volunteers to help preserve them for the public record.
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I guess the next step is picking specific people to memorize specific books and pass that knowledge down to an assistant/acolyte who will keep the memories alive. Rinse and repeat. Fahrenheit 451 anybody?
seveneves - Sonar Taxlaw
Anna’s Archive says ‘time is running out’ as ‘knowledge is permanently monopolized on private servers’
Not only that, of course, but easily edited. It’s a “mandala effect” generator. AKA modern gaslighting. They name the thing, point to legitimate examples, then abuse our new “understanding” to cover their crimes. 1984 indeed.
Oceania was at war with Eurasia; therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia
Fucking scanning books without destroying them, the philistines! /s
Is this gif from that tom hanks movie?
Yeah it’s Toy Story 3
No I know AI companies are doing that, I just don’t think they would be making gifs about it.
But there’s a Tom Hanks movie that came out a few years ago where in the beginning of the movie he lives in a bunker because the UV index outside is so high the sunlight is basically radioactive, and he’s building a robot and he uses a machine to chop the spines off of books to feed them into a scanner to train the robot brain.
That all takes place in the very beginning and then he leaves the bunker with the robot and some shit happens. But that’s what I thought this gif was from.
Finch? Yeah it’s the same machine, just with a fun robot hand to make the sacrilege seem less awful, maybe?
Yeah, that sounds correct
If you read the blog post, they don’t provide help or guidance for regular bookworms on how to scan. No information about what they expect.
Also, flatbed scanning a whole book takes many hours. It’s one page at a time, line up each page, press the book flat and scan, for hundreds of pages.
You’d likely need to buy, or have access to a book scanner. Which is fine, there are cheap models, but who knows if that would work for them? They don’t say. It doesn’t seem like they’re expecting help from you or me.
I was wondering how feasible this is for an average Joe. My assumption was not very, thank you for confirming.
I own some rare books but no book scanner. What should I do?
Those who want to conduct large-scale scans and upload many titles can reach out to the archive for support, as the archive says that it “can help pay for the scanning fees and other rewards.”
Hmm, it’s just a few books but I do think they’re pretty rare. Not something I’m willing to send away. I wonder if a library would be willing to help?
My local library has some large format scanners. I’ve considered using them to do my photo albums. I have the individual photos scanned and backed up, but the layout and margin notes are worth preserving also.
If your local library doesn’t own a book scanner, any colleges near you may have one. You usually don’t have to be a student to walk into the library, and the book scanners I’ve used don’t require a login. YMMV on whether this is how it’s set up where you are.
I might try this. Im concerned that some of the books may still be under copyright. Not all of my rare books are that old. I collect indie poetry books and comics as well as old religious texts/pamphlets.
Also concerned that some might be literally some of the only remaining copies and I really don’t want to risk damaging them.
If you’ve got some comfort with tinkering:
Super outdated and the guide doesn’t work
Any reputable orgs I can donate to for assisting the cause? I just don’t feel I have the means otherwise to make a dent in the buying and preservation.
Perhaps there is a public library in your area that accepts donations? The one I live by is STARVING for support, they accept books, old computers, anything.
They do good work for the community too, like free tech literacy classes, chess for kids, etc.
But if you are dead set on an online NGO, then maybe archive.org? You have probably heard about their Wayback Machine, but they preserve books and other media too.
Ahh, good call. On it. Thanks!
Anyone know any good book scanners was looking around and not sure what i should get.
Ages ago I had mimicked the “overhead scanner” with a mounted digital camera, but now I’d go with a mounted smartphone + light bars + bluetooth photo trigger. Scrolling through Bezos’ was pretty depressing in terms of cost/quality and even a $150 device seemed like a repurposed webcam, with a sole non-free confirmed buyer saying it died after 3 months while freebies praise it lol. As long as you don’t scan drawings/designs/comic books - just set lights evenly and that’d be enough, and even moreso if you OCR it and turn a scan into an e-book where visual fidelity stops to matter.
same, probably when I’ll have time in an other dimension I would love to make my own
i would help you in that dimension as well lol
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So, my question is, of all these books being scanned and then destroyed, aren’t there many more copies of these books? And BTW, knowledge isn’t permanent. It can be lost.
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destroying (A) physical copy. in order to copy the (1) copy of a book(which most new already exist as pdf). kinda like how people do it when they scan the book. which has been happening for decades now to make knowledge permanent.
far cry from “destroying all books” which these rage bait titles suggest. we arent standing around a pit of fire.
bigger tragedy is how humans seem shittier at communication as AI learns. probably a more accurate title.
There are many, many non destructive scanning methods. My understanding is that most archival projects are using the non destructive options.
The easy option is to just slice off the binding and run it through a scanner.
The easy option is what is being talked about here, and those books are then fed into AI as training material. The digital copies aren’t “making knowledge permanent” as they are tucked away into a digital corner virtually no one has access to. They are as permanent as the source code for Fortnite.
If a PDF already exists, as you claim, then why go to the trouble of obtaining, destroying and scanning the books again?
There’s also Kobo… Kindle… epubs…
Not just pdfs.
Heck you can get audio books. Most books are now sold with recording.
This has been happening for decades.
Are all you people complaining here just not book readers and just here for pure out rage?
Ok? That doesn’t answer my question, if anything it makes it more obvious how you are incorrect:
If a [insert digital format name] already exists, as you claim, then why go to the trouble of obtaining, destroying, and scanning the books again?
Your response reads like there are more options than just PDF, so it’s fine to destroy the books.
They bought a copy of a book. They gonna do with it what they want. It’s their’s. Not your’s. Their’s.
You didn’t buy it. And you didn’t care about it till now. Over something you didn’t buy. Someone else did.
So now you are outraged they are making copies? This has been happening since copy machines were invented.
You’re outraged they destroyed THE ONE COPY they bought? (NOT ALL. JUST ONE)
They recycled rather than hoarded. Good for them.
This happens every day since books and other things were invented to manage unwanted junk.
If you want it go buy a copy and support the author, go for it. You want to recycle? Go for it. Both things are not illegal. Nor should they be.
I don’t get your problem here. Seems like you’re too stupid to know what to outrage about.
It’s like you discovered that dirt exists for the first time and how dare someone shovels dirt in some unmarked area you never even knew or cared existed to make a trench.
Okay, but aren’t there more than 1 copy of the books they get their hands on? Or do they steal from museums?
