According to the article, the scanning facility has been there for a while, so it may well be that they have been destructively scanning books for a while, even before AI. It makes sense for the major book retailer to have digital copies of every book so that it can begin selling those as soon as it can negotiate the rights (if there are any).
In any case, all the indignation about destructive digitization misses the point that rare books takings space in a warehouse for years without being bought will eventually be destroyed anyway.
In any case, all the indignation about destructive digitization misses the point that rare books takings space in a warehouse for years without being bought will eventually be destroyed anyway.