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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[–] 11 points 2 months ago (2 children)

A book from 1920 will probably not get printed again

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  • [–] -5 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    ...why not?

    If it hasn't been printed more than once in a literal century, is that really a loss?

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  • [–] 11 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

    Potentially, yes. Sure, it could just be some smut novel, but it could also provide insight into a certain group or people's perspective on societal/political events at the time, contributing to a better painted big picture on an event we thought we knew all there is to know about.

    A very recent example is the VHS tapes that contained unseen and unpublished footage of Tiananmen Square.

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