'My theory is that it's masses and masses of AI money': Stuart and Mary Manley, the co-owners of Barter Books in Alnwick, Northumberland. 'My theory is that it's masses and masses of AI money': Stuart and Mary Manley, the co-owners of Barter Books in Alnwick, Northumberland. Secondhand booksellers in UK and Ireland suspect AI firms behind'strange' bulk orders Development comes after Anthropic was found to have spent millions on books to scan for'data acquisition' Secondhand booksellers in the UK and Ireland are reporting a flurry of bulk orders from mystery buyers, amid speculation AI companies are acquiring the tomes for their data. Bookshops contacted by the Guardian say they have been receiving orders from buyers in the US, Canada, continental Europe and the UK. The increase has been replicated around the world, with booksellers in the US, Australia and Europe also reporting unusual orders.

Halo's armored hero, Master Chief, has fought the Covenant on a raft of planets throughout the galaxy. One place the super-soldier hasn't visited, though, is a village called Bamburgh on the northeast coast of England. At Gamescom 2018, I was shown a special Halo event that will appear in Forza Horizon 4 later this year. The course, presented as a virtual "training exercise," lets you drive the rugged Warthog through dense forests and sandy beaches. It looked like terrific fun and will, if nothing else, be a nice distraction while fans wait for Halo Infinite.