Twitch makes AI training the default for creator content

Twitch plans to use videos streamed on its platform to help train Amazon’s generative AI models, unless creators switch off a new setting. Amanda Silberling reports for TechCrunch that the policy has prompted strong criticism because creators are included by default.

Recorded livestreams can provide Amazon with large volumes of video and audio, including footage of creators speaking on camera for hours at a time. Twitch says users can opt out, but the setting is not enabled by default.

During a broadcast on Twitch’s official channel, Chief Product Officer Mike Minton addressed audience complaints about the opt-out design. Asked why participation was not voluntary from the start, Minton said that, if it were opt-in, “nobody would opt in.”

The company also faced questions over whether Amazon had already used Twitch videos for model training. Minton said he did not know what Amazon had used in previous training efforts.

How to opt out

Creators can turn off the setting through their channel settings rather than the creator dashboard:

• Open Channel settings.
• Select Security and privacy.
• Find Training for generative AI.
• Switch the setting off.

Head of Community Mary Kish said Twitch introduced the opt-out option in response to creators who do not want their work used to train generative AI. She also noted that other platforms use public user content for AI development. Meta, for example, uses public Facebook and Instagram content for its models, though available opt-out options differ by region.