Twitch defaults channels to Amazon generative AI training, prompting creator backlash

Millions of Twitch streamers have accused the Amazon-owned platform of using its streams and chats to train AI products.

A Twitch streamer has filed a proposed class action against the platform and its parent company Amazon, claiming his broadcasts, and those of countless other creators, were fed into generative AI training with neither consent nor payment. Read more

The proposed class of video streamers claims their content is being used to train Amazon’s AI models without permission or compensation.

When Twitch announced that streamers could opt out, thousands of users questioned why their content was being used to train AI models in the first place.

Twitch is facing criticism over a new setting that allows Amazon to use streamer content for generative AI training by default. Streamers can opt out through their privacy settings. Users questioned why the option was not turned off unless creators agreed. Twitch said it is not training GenAI models itself, but the setting covers Amazon’s AI model training.

Twitch is facing criticism over a new setting that allows Amazon to use streamer content for generative AI training by default. Streamers can opt out through their privacy settings. Users questioned why the option was not turned off unless creators agreed. Twitch said it is not training GenAI models itself, but the setting covers Amazon’s AI model training.

The new setting is enabled by default, meaning users have to opt out if they don’t want their content used to train Amazon’s AI.

Twitch will begin allowing Amazon to use streamers' content to train generative AI models by default, requiring creators to manually opt out if they don't want their videos and audio included. The decision has drawn backlash from creators, with Twitch's own product chief acknowledging that an opt-in system would likely attract almost no participants. "Why is it not opt-in? That's what everybody is spamming in chat. I get it. 'Let me opt in versus making me opt out,'" said Twitch Chief Product Officer Mike Minton. "Well, there's an honest answer... If this was opt-in, nobody would opt in. That's honestly the answer." TechCrunch reports: For Amazon, these stream recordings are incredibly valuable, offering thousands of hours of audio and video content to help train AI models. But Twitch users worry that since creators have to manually opt out, they might be surrendering their content to train Amazon's AI content models without even knowing it. This is especially concerning on a platform like Twitch, where creators are often recording livestreams of themselves and their voices for many hours per week. [...] Twitch knows that its community of streamers is largely opposed to the use of generative AI, since the most prevalent generative AI products are trained on books, images, videos, and other materials scraped from the internet without consent. Even Twitch's approach to breaking this news shows that the company is braced for backlash. Instead of telling the community that Amazon would begin training on Twitch users' content, Twitch framed this change as "[adding] a setting that lets you opt out of having your channel content used to train generative AI content models across Amazon." In some cases, this created confusion among streamers about whether their content had already been fed to Amazon without their knowledge. When one user asked if their videos had already been used for training, Minton responded, "I don't actually know the answer to that question because I don't know what Amazon [...] has done in terms of model training and what they've used and not used." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Twitch's chief product officer acknowledged no one would volunteer their content if given the choice

Twitch has confirmed its policy allowing Amazon to utilize the content uploaded by its creators for the purpose of training its generative AI technologies is becoming a source of fierce indignation. This Twitch AI Training backlash is caused by the fact that Twitch creators will be included in the system by default until they deactivate […]

Twitch has added a setting letting streamers stop Amazon using their streams, clips and chat to train generative AI, buried in security settings and off by default. Chief product officer Mike Minton explained the default plainly, saying that if it were opt-in, nobody would opt in. Twitch has added a setting that stops Amazon training […] This story continues at The Next Web

Twitch says streams, clips, images, chats and other channel content can be used to train Amazon's generative AI models unless users opt out.

Twitch says streams, clips, images, chats and other channel content can be used to train Amazon's generative AI models unless users opt out.

Video game streaming giant Twitch has introduced a setting that allows users to opt out of Amazon using their channel content to train generative AI models, more than two years after a company executive publicly confirmed the practice. The post Amazon Is Training AI with Data from Its Twitch Streaming Platform, Here’s How to Opt Out appeared first on Breitbart.

Twitch says live audio, text, images and other channel content will be used by Amazon to train AI across its platforms unless users opt out.

The Amazon-owned streaming site Twitch is now using channels to train generative AI systems, and the company's top product boss knows it's a controversial piece of news that most people won't like. By default, Twitch channels are now used to train generative AI models across Amazon, and users need to opt-out. Opting-out isn't enough, though, as any chats on a channel that hasn't opted out will still be used for training. During a livestream, Twitch chief product officer Mike Minton said that if the model training was on an opt-in basis, no one would do it. "We know many of you will opt out. Why is it not opt-in? 'Let me opt-in versus making me opt-out.' Well, there is an honest answer, and I think most of you can appreciate this. If it was opt-in, nobody would opt-in. That's honestly the answer. So it's going to be on by default," he said. "Almost every content service in the world is on by default. I think the thing that we are doing here that is unique and different is respecting your wishes to opt-out of model training. I know this is not a fan-favorite. I know it's very upsetting to the community. But this is where we are." On the Twitch website, the company said the new model-training feature uses channel content to train generative AI content models, including streams, VODs, clips, stream chats, and pictures and text broadcast to the channel. Opting-out stops Twitch from doing this on your channel, but as mentioned above, chatting on someone else's stream will still leverage the model-training if that person has not opted out. Additionally, anyone who opts-out to this new feature will still be part of model-training, as Twitch uses AI and machine learning for its AutoMod community-safety service and for AI-supported features like automatically generated captions. It is not possible to opt-out of these offerings, though Twitch said it does not retain user data for other types of model training. You can't opt-out of all of Twitch's AI uses because some AI-supported features are not individual settings, but platform offerings, Twitch said. "Some of it runs the service itself, the same way our servers and our code do. Some of it keeps the service secure. And some of it, like AutoMod, protects the whole community. Turning those off for one person would weaken safety and security for everyone else on the platform, so they are not individual settings," Twitch explained. Twitch's own head of community, GameSpot alum Mary Kish, said she is opting-out of the new AI-training features in part because some of her community members would not join her streams if she opted-in. Twitch's announcement drew a lot of responses. Popular streamer PaladinAmber joked that she is going to "start doing makeup that distorts my face and speak in really cryptic terms" and "f**k with the stream" so much that whatever the AI learns will be so bad it needs to be thrown out. People are raising other issues, like what happens if a creator streams your game and has opted-in. Or what happens for union-backed voice actors who lobbied for protections against AI usage. The push for further AI training on Twitch is not a big surprise, as its parent company, Amazon, is heavily invested in various pillars of AI. In May this year, the company said it was investing more than $200 billion into its AI buildout in 2026 alone. Amazon is also partnered with AI juggernaut Anthropic.

Twitch users’ streams are being used to train Amazon’s AI, and you have to opt out to stop it.

Twitch's chief product officer says he does not know whether content had already been used for training before the setting appeared.

Twitch users have spotted a "Training for Generative AI" option in creator settings that's on by default. Here's how to turn it off.

Livestreaming giants Twitch have admitted using streamed content to train the generative AI models of parent company Amazon. While it’s not clear when the platform began feeding its users’ work into Jeffy B’s Planetkilling Machines, yesterday’s announcement of an opt-out toggle – buried deep within Twitch’s security settings, and set to enable AI stream-gobbling by default – sparked outrage among streamers and viewers that such scraping was occurring at all. Twitch’s chief product officer Mike Minton and head of community Mary Kish were wheeled out to explain the policy in a stream of their own, though it’s possible the only ones reassured by the discussion were the Amazon bots themselves. Although Minton was upfront about the models’ use of streamed video, he conceded that he didn’t know if users’ personal data had also been caught up in the scraping net, and that he wasn’t actually sure what Amazon "has done in terms of model training." Awesome. Awesome. Read more

Twitch channels are quietly being used to train Amazon’s AI models. Here’s how creators can opt out.

Twitch - the popular gaming and IRL streaming platform - has announced it'll start training generative AI models on those livestreaming on the platform. Read more

The streaming platform's users criticised the move to allow the use of channel content for AI training.

Twitch's executives said users can opt out of AI training, which has become a common industry practice.

Streams, VODs, comments, and pretty much everything else will go into the gen AI training machine, unless streamers choose to opt out.

Twitch said Wednesday users can opt out to prevent Amazon from training its AI models on their content.

Streaming platform says user-generated content "may be used for future Gen AI model improvements."

For now at least, you can stop Amazon from using your streams and chat to train its generative AI tools

Twitch now lets streamers block Amazon from using their broadcasts, clips, and other channel content to train generative AI. However, it's opt out, so here's how to do that.TwitchThe Amazon-owned streaming service announced the AI training opt-out on August 12. Users can find it under Security and Privacy in Twitch account settings, where it's labeled "Training for Generative AI."Turning off the setting prevents Amazon from using a channel's streams, videos on demand, clips, highlights, chat, text, and images to train future models. Twitch says the opt-out covers Amazon models that generate or synthesize text, audio, images, or video.We've added a setting that lets you opt out of having your channel content used to train generative AI content models across Amazon. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

There's now an opt-out toggle for something that should have been opt-in to begin with.

Twitch users can now opt out of allowing their content to be used to train Amazon's generative AI models. Opting out means that "your streams, VODs, clips, stream chats, and pictures and text on your channel" won't be used in "future training" of an Amazon AI model "whose purpose is to generate or synthesize text, […]