Bookseller Suspects AI Firm Blue Angel of Seeking Rare Chris Burden Book for Destructive Scanning
Brandon Thomas DiSabatino, the proprietor of Conveyor Belt Books located in Covington, Kentucky, received two emails from Blue Angel over a span of two months, both containing substantial and diverse book orders, including a self-published work by Chris Burden. Additionally, he got a similar inquiry from another company and a proposal from a firm in the Dominican Republic to purchase his stock, which he turned down. The emails from Blue Angel were signed by Crystal Kanemoto and were associated with a chatbot. Blue Angel International LLC, established in 2015 by CEO Avon Zhang, provides consumer goods to agencies in California. DiSabatino communicated with someone he thought was a bot, who stated they were gathering books for a library. He intends to scrutinize future purchase inquiries closely.
Key facts
- Brandon Thomas DiSabatino owns Conveyor Belt Books in Covington, Kentucky.
- Over two months, he received two spreadsheet orders from Blue Angel, both requesting a self-published Chris Burden book.
- The emails were signed by Crystal Kanemoto, a name linked to an Emochi chatbot.
- Blue Angel is incorporated in California since 2015 as Blue Angel International LLC, with CEO Avon Zhang.
- Public records show Blue Angel supplied plant material to Richmond, safety supplies to San Diego's transit agency, and a 2025 Chevrolet Malibu to Imperial County.
- DiSabatino called Blue Angel and believed he spoke to a bot that giggled and said, "We are collecting books for a library."
- A reporter later spoke to a woman identifying as Crystal Kanemoto, who claimed Blue Angel was sourcing books for city libraries but refused to name them.
- The case echoes reports of AI companies buying rare books for destructive scanning, including Anthropic's project to "destructively scan all the books in the world."
Entities
Artists
- Brandon Thomas DiSabatino
- Chris Burden
- Hilary Zaid
- Avon Zhang
- Crystal Kanemoto
- Don DeLillo
Institutions
- Conveyor Belt Books
- Blue Angel
- Blue Angel International LLC
- Emochi
- 404 Media
- Amazon
- Anthropic
- Google Books
- Mother Jones
- Tribune News Service
- Getty
- U.S. Department of Transportation
- City of Richmond
- San Diego transit agency
- Imperial County
Locations
- Covington
- Kentucky
- United States
- California
- Dominican Republic
- Richmond
- San Diego
- Imperial County