> If they are truly rare, then they are likely not valuable, otherwise there would be more copies or their contents could be found elsewhere.

The Gutenberg bible is rare, its content is not rare, and some would argue that the content itself is not valuable, and yet the Gutenberg bible is valuable.

Same can be said about many books.

Right but is an AI company going to destroy a Gutenberg bible? No, as you said the content is not rare, and that's what they want.

So old books are valuable because old paper is valuable? I understand why the Gutenberg bible might be valuable but do we really need thousands of mass paperback novels?

Ask: valuable to whom and why?

- Reader: narrative

- Collector: scarcity of the physical artifact

- AI Company: language samples (quantity, variety), facts