Yesterday, Twitch announced that Amazon is going to be training AI models on Twitch streams, VODs, and chats, with users forced to opt in by default because otherwise “nobody would opt in.” During a stream addressing concerns, Twitch chief product officer Mike Minton noted that the company won’t be introducing any sort of label to help users distinguish between streamers who remain opted in and those who do not. Now streamers have taken matters into their own hands.
As first spotted by Zach Bussey, numerous streamers have begun adding “AIOptedOut” to their tag selections on Twitch. Other popular tags with similar aims include “NoAI” and “NoGenAI”, with the latter managing to attract big names like longtime streamer Chris “Sacriel” Ball. While this approach is by no means comprehensive, it at least gives viewers a selection of streamers who for sure aren’t letting Amazon’s creepy crawly data-scraping bots go hog wild on their broadcasts.
Streamers say it also sends a message.
“‘What does this do?’” wrote a streamer named Shania, who has also taken to displaying a “This channel doesn’t train Gen AI models” banner in her Twitch profile. “It gets people talking. The only way things can change is if we use our voice.”
“I'll be joining in,” said another streamer who goes by the handle Drunklockholmes. “Deception and hiding things like this is a company's whole MO. They know you don't like it, but know there's a chance that what the viewer doesn't know won't hurt them.”
Whether or not Twitch will continue to allow this in the long run remains to be seen. It’s telling that the company announced Amazon’s AI model training with detailed instructions about how to disable it, but the feature is now baked into Twitch’s very fiber despite immediate and expected outcry. Considering that Twitch has long been an odd duck in Amazon’s larger portfolio and has struggled to achieve profitability, I don’t imagine the Amazon mothership pays much heed to what streamers think. But that won’t stop streamers from trying.
“Creators are gonna have to do what Amazon and Twitch, as companies, won't,” added Drunklockholmes. “Per usual.”
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Nathan Grayson
