Comment by rohan_
7 days ago
you do realize "rare books" in this context most likely means random technical manuals nobody cares about and not collectors items, right?
7 days ago
you do realize "rare books" in this context most likely means random technical manuals nobody cares about and not collectors items, right?
Oh, that's really interesting, I'd love to see the list of books that they've digitized too. Where did you find it?
follow the discussion around this on X, i think just a few minutes of research on this topic / reading past the headline you'll find out that this is pretty much a nothingburger
No, what I mean is that I want to know how to figure out what books they are digitizing so I will know what they're trying to improve their models on.
I didn't realize that the list of books was published somewhere, so that you know with confidence what they're adding to the collection.
How do I browse the list you're using for tracking this?
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Unless we know this to be the case it's reasonable to assume it might be more.
It's reasonable to assume the clickbait article with no information is actually important?
The books.
Why would that be a reasonable assumption? This is so blown out of proportion. The imagery invoked by the narrative is one of huge corporations destroying the final copies of literary treasures. That's just not happening.
> That's just not happening.
And that is a reasonable assumption?
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If most but not all, what number are ones that people and collectors do care about?
If collectors cares about them, the sellers wouldn’t have sold it for pennies.
These buyers are reportedly exceptionally non price conscious. What evidence is there that all books are sold for pennies, not just most?
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Any bookseller worth their salt will ensure that a truly valuable book will not languish on their shelf for 1 minute longer than it takes to find a buyer willing to pay a fair price.
If AI-scanners are somehow bid-sniping bona fide collectors and wealthy aficionados, there may be cause for concern. But that is most certainly not happening here.
How do you have confidence in that? These buyers are reportedly exceptionally non price conscious.
Personally when seeking out rare books with few copies in existance and extremely scarce availability, I have often found listings that have lasted for quite some time. Not all rare books go to auction. You might be thinking only of some extreme of notable works and not a wider spectrum of desired but scarce publications that does indeed exist contrary to your confident assertion.
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