TNW 451: AI Is Eating Rare Books - Rare Books Gutted for AI Training

TNW 451: AI Is Eating Rare Books - Rare Books Gutted for AI Training

Author: TWiT August 21, 2026 Duration: 1:08:04

Abrar Al-Heeti of CNET joins the show to talk about her review of the Pixel 11 Pro Fold, Meta's smart glasses are slowly becoming a concern in the workplace, and Amazon is destroying rare books & utilizing them as AI training data.

  • Abrar Al-Heeti shares her review of the Pixel 11 Pro Fold, noting how foldables have become nearly indistinguishable in size from standard phones like the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and shares a look at its camera, battery, and new software features like Pause Point.
  • Mikah shares an article published by The Verge that looks into how retail workers, tourism employees, and comedians describe being secretly recorded by Meta Ray-Ban wearers on the job.
  • And 404 Media's Emanuel Maiberg joins the show to share his investigation into Amazon buying and shredding rare, out-of-print books to scan them as AI training data, and how a legal ruling in Anthropic's book-piracy case made destroying the originals advantageous.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Abrar Al-Heeti

Guest: Emanuel Maiberg

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Every Thursday, Mikah Sargent gathers with the reporters and writers who are actually on the ground covering the biggest shifts in the industry. This Tech News Weekly (Audio) podcast from TWiT moves beyond the headlines for a deeper conversation about the stories that matter. You’ll hear from the journalists themselves about how a story broke, the nuances that got lost in the initial rush, and what it all might mean for the future. It’s a direct line to the freshest perspectives and context you often miss, helping to make sense of the relentless pace of innovation, policy, and corporate moves. Rather than just summarizing the news, these discussions dig into the how and why, offering a more complete picture of the week in tech. Tune in for a consistently insightful analysis that feels like you’re in the room with the people who know these narratives inside and out. New episodes record live each Thursday, ready to give your understanding of the tech landscape a meaningful edge.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 30

Tech News Weekly (Audio)
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