diff --git a/guix/build/clojure-utils.scm b/guix/build/clojure-utils.scm
index a9ffad3c8f3..8817cab52a8 100644
--- a/guix/build/clojure-utils.scm
+++ b/guix/build/clojure-utils.scm
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ all libraries found under the source directories."
 (define-with-docs %aot-exclude
   "A default list of symbols deciding what not to compile.
 See the doc string of '%aot-include' for more details."
-  '())
+  '(data-readers))
 
 (define-with-docs %tests?
   "Enable tests by default."