Twitch faces backlash over Amazon training AI on its users livestreams

Twitch is now allowing users to stop Amazon from training their generative artificial intelligence (AI) models using users’ content, the popular streaming platform said.

The US company said users can opt out of a default setting that allows Amazon to use streams, clips, images, chats and other channel content.

The announcement on Wednesday confirmed that the technology giant, which took over Twitch in 2014, was using the platform’s content for AI training, prompting widespread backlash from users.

Amazon runs a host of AI services and has heavily invested in the its development as it seeks to compete with Google, Meta and other technology giants.

The BBC has contacted Amazon for comment and Twitch for more information.

Twitch is a major livestreaming platform that is especially popular among gamers and youths. The platform’s top content creators have tens of millions of followers.

AI training collection has been turned on by default just as it is on most content services, but Twitch is “respecting” users’ wishes to opt out if they prefer, Twitch’s chief product officer Mike Minton said during a stream on the platform, external.

Asked why data is being collected by default, he said: “If it’s opt-in, nobody would opt-in. That’s the honest answer.”

Users who remain opted in could have any of their channel content used for training, Minton said, adding that the data collected will not be re-sold to other companies.

During the same session, Mary Kish, head of community at Twitch, took viewers through a tutorial on how to disable generative AI training through a user’s channel settings.

Data collection for AI training has become an industry standard, Kish said.

“We don’t expect you to be happy or excited about this. I don’t expect anyone to react to this favourably,” she added.

The stream’s chat column was flooded with hundreds of comments from users criticising the move.

One viewer wrote: “Nobody would opt in because nobody wants to feed AI with our creativity and content.”

Another said Twitch had an “opportunity to set an industry standard” to push back against data collection for AI.

It is not clear when Amazon began collecting Twitch users’ data to train its AI models.

Minton said during the stream that he did not know if users’ data had already been scraped for training, adding that he was unsure what Amazon “has done in terms of model training and what they’ve used and not used.”