Twitch will allow creator content on its platform to be used to train generative AI models across parent company Amazon, with creators included by default unless they manually opt out. The policy has drawn criticism from streamers who argue that consent should be required before their videos and voices are used for AI training.
Twitch announced the change through a new setting that lets users disable the use of their channel content for generative AI model training. Because the setting is enabled by default, creators who do nothing will remain included.
The company confirmed the policy in an official support post, which described the feature as an option to prevent channel content from being used for AI training across Amazon.
Twitch Says Opt-In Would Draw Little Participation
During a livestream on Twitch’s official channel, Chief Product Officer Mike Minton and Head of Community Mary Kish addressed questions from nearly 3,000 viewers. Minton said the company chose an opt-out system because very few creators would voluntarily join if participation required an explicit opt-in.
That explanation intensified criticism among some streamers, particularly because Twitch creators may broadcast themselves and their voices for many hours each week. Those recordings could provide large amounts of video and audio data for training generative AI systems.
Minton also said he did not know whether Amazon had already used Twitch content for model training before the new setting became available. Twitch has not publicly detailed which Amazon models may use the data or how much creator content could be included.
Creators Can Disable AI Training in Settings
Kish said the opt-out option reflects feedback from Twitch users who do not want their content used for generative AI. She also noted that other technology companies use public user-generated content for model training.
Meta, for example, has used public posts from Facebook and Instagram to help train its AI systems. In some regions, including the UK, users have been given additional ways to object to that use.
Twitch users who want to opt out can open their channel settings, select the Security and Privacy section, find the “Training for generative AI” option, and switch it off. The control is located in channel settings rather than the Creator Dashboard.
The change adds Twitch to a growing list of online platforms using user-generated material to support AI development. For Twitch creators, the immediate difference is that participation is automatic unless they actively change the setting.
Featured image credits: Dinah888 via Flickr
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