Twitch to Train AI on Streamers' Content by Default, Opt-Out Only
Amazon/AWS
Twitch
Meta
Twitch will now use creators' content to train Amazon's generative AI models, with an opt-out system that has drawn backlash from the community. Critics argue defaults should be opt-in, but Twitch's Chief Product Officer admitted that opt-in would lead to no participation. The company is framing it as a 'new setting for opting out' to soften the news.
Twitch announced that its platform will now use creators' content to train generative AI models for Amazon, a move that has sparked immediate backlash from the Twitch community because it is opt-out by default. Amazon values the thousands of hours of audio and video from stream recordings for AI training, but creators worry they may unknowingly surrender their content. In a live stream addressing nearly 3,000 users, Twitch's Chief Product Officer Mike Minton admitted that an opt-in system would result in nobody opting in, which is why it remains opt-out. Twitch framed the change as 'adding a setting' to opt out, causing confusion about whether content was already used. Minton stated he doesn't know if Amazon has already trained on existing content. Twitch's Head of Community Mary Kish noted that this practice is common, citing Meta's similar use of public content from Facebook and Instagram for AI training. To opt out, users must navigate to channel settings, security and privacy tab, and toggle off 'training for generative AI.'
Source: TechCrunch AI —
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