Paper is better for the brain.
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AI Overview AI companies are aggressively purchasing and destroying millions of physical books—including vintage, out-of-print, and rare titles by authors like Oscar Wilde—to digitize them for LLM training datasets.
That’s exactly what the article in the September Socialist Standard is about. It should be already on its way to you and other subscribers. Mine arrived yesterday.
ps. Reading paper books is good but I’m not sure what the scientific evidence is that reading books and articles online is not so good from a neurological view. But does it matter? Reading paper books is still better than reading them on screen.
Years back, many leftist organisations used mimeographs to print their newspapers, magazines, or journals, using low-quality paper and toxic ink with petroleum solvents, lead and cadmium, and was also used by several printing shops, but the spread of their news media was very limited. Linotype operators were exposed to metal characters created with lead, and that metal produces cancer
Most newspapers, magazines, and books were typed by Linotype operators until the creation of offset printing; many workers lost their jobs, and many died from cancer. Most physical old books were typed by Linotype operators
Several organisations have reprinted those newspapers in digital format, and now they have a bigger audience, and that information has not been lost; they have better fonts and better presentation; they have added an artistic format and a better background.
We must look into the benefits and disadvantages of both worlds
I have translated most of the old pamphlets published by the SPGB into PDF format, and using software, I was able to correct many grammar and punctuation mistakes in some of them. I found more than 480 mistakes in one pamphlet, and now they have been corrected. The new format can be used to reprint them
Software like Adobe, Grammarly, and WordPerfect (mostly used by law firms ) will transform an old book into a nicer format. The old days of typists ( and typewriters) and Greg shorthand are gone
There is no scientific evidence that reading books from an e-reader or a digital book produces neurological damage; the light or the rays of the device might affect your eyesight, and it can produce digital eye strain.
It might produce some side effects, like some medications produce side effects.
Long use of iPhones might produce ear damage. Long use of computer screens can create minor insomnia.
https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/digital-devices-your-eyes
I have paper books and digital books, and sometimes I have found that some digital books have better fonts than the original book, and the quality of the book has been better than the paper book.
I have used Kindle, Fire, and iPad, and iPad is very good for reading textbooks because it is in colour, especially Apple reading apps; some old textbooks did not have pictures. Going to school reduces the load of carrying heavy textbooks, especially books for natural science and law.
I have paper backups for textbooks, and I read them when I get home
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E-readers do not produce neurological damage. No scientific evidence suggests that reading on an e-reader causes physical harm, lesions, or degenerative diseases in the brain.However, neuroscientists and medical researchers have found that digital reading changes how the brain processes information and can cause temporary physiological side effects.
Temporary Physiological effects:
Sleep Disruption:
Traditional E-Ink readers (like the basic Kindle) reflect light like paper. However, modern e-readers with built-in front lights or tablet-based reading apps (like the Kindle Fire or iPad) emit blue light.Studies by groups like Harvard Medical School show that evening exposure to this light suppresses melatonin secretion, alters circadian rhythms, and reduces morning alertness.
Digital Eye Strain:
Prolonged reading on any digital device can lead to Computer Vision Syndrome. Symptoms include headaches, blurred vision, and dry eyes, though these are temporary and disappear with rest. E-Ink screens cause significantly less strain than standard LCD or OLED tablet screens.2. Cognitive and Processing Differences
While not “damage,” the human brain alters its cognitive approach based on the medium: The “Shallowing Effect”: Digital formats encourage fast scanning and browsing rather than deep immersion.
Lower Retention:
Brain imaging studies compiled by Neuroscience News indicate that reading on paper creates a “spatial map” in the mind, making it easier to remember complex narratives compared to the infinite scroll or uniform pages of a screen.
Cognitive Load:
Reading on tablets requires the brain to spend more energy managing the medium itself (scrolling, adjusting settings, resisting notifications), leaving fewer cognitive resources for deep comprehension.ion
Staring at digital screens, including e-readers, for extended periods reduces your blink rate and dries out the moisture layer on your eyes, leading to temporary blurriness and eye strain, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Why Screens Cause Eye Strain: Decreased blinking:
You normally blink every 5 to 7 seconds, but that rate drops to every 15 to 20 seconds when focusing on a digital screen.
Evaporating tears: Reduced blinking dries out your eye’s tear film, causing your vision to blur until you blink again to spread fresh tears.
Extended focus:
Continuous near-vision work tires the focusing muscles inside the eye.
Some old, rare, and out-of-print books are being physically destroyed, but this is not happening to create consumer Kindle e-books.
Instead, major tech companies are doing this on an industrial scale to train artificial intelligence (AI) models.
When a standard old book is digitised to become a commercial Kindle or e-reader book, non-destructive scanning methods—like overhead cameras or specialised cradles—are used to preserve the original artefact.
The current situation involving book destruction is driven by a different process:
Why Are Books Being Destroyed?
Training AI Chatbots: Companies like Amazon, Anthropic (through “Project Panama”), and other tech giants need high-quality, human-written text to train their Large Language Models (LLMs).
The Pre-2022 Premium: The internet is now saturated with AI-generated text. Tech companies are aggressively buying older books because they provide “clean,” high-density data entirely untouched by AI.
Destructive Scanning: To digitise millions of pages as fast as possible, industrial facilities use “destructive scanning”. This involves using hydraulic cutting machines to slice off the book’s spine, running the loose pages through high-speed automatic document feeders, and then recycling or pulping the paper remnants.
Are They Actually Destroying “Rare” Books?
Investigations by investigative outlets like 404 Media have tracked bulk orders from secondhand marketplaces (like Biblio and Alibris) directly to tech warehouses.
Because these buyers place massive automated orders based on ISBN lists or specific subject parameters, they frequently buy up antique, limited-edition, and out-of-print historical texts without screening out culturally significant copies.
Is This Legal?
A U.S. federal court recently ruled that this process is legal under copyright Fair Use laws. Because the tech companies legally purchase the physical copies and destroy them after scanning, the court viewed it as transforming one physical copy into one private digital copy rather than illegal duplication or piracy.
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