Twitch and its parent company Amazon are facing backlash after the streaming platform introduced a setting that allows users' content to be used to train Amazon's generative AI models by default.
The setting is enabled automatically, although Twitch users can opt out. The announcement on Wednesday triggered criticism from users who questioned why the feature was enabled by default, the BBC reported.
Twitch Chief Product Officer Mike Minton said the company was "respecting" users by allowing them to opt out, but acknowledged that the data collection was enabled by default because "if it's opt-in, nobody would opt in. That's the honest answer."
Minton said during a livestream that users who do not opt out could have their channel content used to train generative AI models. He added that the data collected would not be resold to other companies.
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According to Twitch's own FAQs on its use of AI, content from users who remain opted in could be used to train generative AI models.
Generative AI is a form of artificial intelligence that can create new content, including text, images and video. Chatbots such as Google's Gemini and OpenAI's ChatGPT are examples of the technology.
Twitch said a user's audio could be used to refine speech-to-text models, helping improve automatic subtitles on Twitch streams as well as Amazon videos.
Some users also questioned the implications for game developers, given that the feature could allow Amazon's AI models to be trained using the large number of video games played by streamers.
One broadcaster commented, "On by default is criminal.... the AI narrative push is so draining," beneath Twitch Support's post about the feature.
How To Opt Out
Twitch's Head of Community Mary Kish demonstrated during the same livestream how users can disable generative AI training through their channel settings.
Users who want to opt out need to go to the Settings tab in their Streamer Dashboard, select Security and Privacy, scroll down the options and switch off "training for Generative AI".
Turning off the setting will prevent Amazon from using streams, clips, images, chats and other channel content to train its generative AI models.
Some users have since reported that the setting appeared to turn back on after they had disabled it.
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During the livestream, Minton said he did not know whether users' data had already been scraped for AI training. He said he was unsure what Amazon "has done in terms of model training and what they've used and not used."
Amazon acquired Twitch for nearly $1 billion (£740 million) in 2014 and has since invested heavily in AI services as it competes with Google, Meta and other technology companies.
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