A bankrupt airline's employee data goes up for AI training
Google agreed to pay $10M for 34 years of Spirit Airlines operational and HR data. When a company collapses, the employee records it leaves behind become an asset to be recovered, and the highest bidder is the one who wants them for AI training. The people who generated the data are not party to the sale, so the only place left to object is a courtroom.
How it unfolded (newest first)
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2026-08-26 Pushback
A union representing 5,500 former flight attendants objected in court. The sale covers invoices and flight data but also crew assignment records. Google says it is taking neither customer data nor personal information.
Read it in that day's briefing → Wired AI
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2026-08-20 Winning bid
Google outbid the AI data firm Mercor, $10M to $7.5M. The set holds a decade of HR, payroll and shift records plus roughly 100 million emails, to be handed over only after a court-appointed third party strips identifying details.
Read it in that day's briefing → Ars Technica AI
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