(Photo Illustration by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
With X formally harnessing public posts to train its AI models, rival Bluesky is going in the opposite direction by rejecting the controversial business practice.
“We do not use any of your content to train generative AI, and have no intention of doing so,” Bluesky told users on Friday.
Bluesky made the statement on the same day X began enforcing new rules to let the company tap user posts to train AI models. X owner Elon Musk first talked about doing so over a year ago, which sparked some users, particularly artists, to bail from the social media platform.
The main worry is that future AI models from X will plagiarize user content without any recourse or compensation for creators. Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, which runs X rival Threads, also uses public posts to train its AI programs.
That prompted some artists and creators on Bluesky to ask about the company’s own stance on AI training. In response, the social media platform said it only uses AI to assist in content moderation and for its recommendation algorithms. “None of these are Gen AI systems trained on user content,” Bluesky added.
The decision will likely strengthen Bluesky’s appeal, especially among artists and privacy-conscious users. On Thursday, Bluesky reported adding another 1 million users in a single day. The platform now has more than 17 million users, up from 9 million in September.
X is facing backlash from some users over Musk’s support of President-elect Donald Trump. Still, X was estimated to have 251 million daily active users back in July. Meanwhile, Threads said it recently crossed 275 million monthly active users.