Bluesky won't train AI on your posts, which is what X does

Micro-blogging website Bluesky, which recently saw a surge in the number of new users after the US Presidential elections, has just announced its AI. According to a post on the platform, Bluesky has confirmed that it will not train generative AI using its user's posts.

This is quite a contrasting announcement, as its biggest alternative, X (formerly Twitter) permits AI training on users' posts. Even Meta's Threads follow the same practice as X. Bluesky's declaration coincided with the implementation of X's new terms of service, granting third-party partners access to train AI on user posts.

Bluesky posted on the platform saying, "A number of artists and creators have made their home on Bluesky, and we hear their concerns with other platforms training on their data. We do not use any of your content to train generative AI, and have no intention of doing so."

A number of artists and creators have made their home on Bluesky, and we hear their concerns with other platforms training on their data. We do not use any of your content to train generative AI, and have no intention of doing so.
— Bluesky (@bsky.app) 2024-11-15T17:17:39.921Z

Additionally, the platform further clarified that it does make use of AI to help with content moderation.

Bluesky uses AI internally to assist in content moderation, which helps us triage posts and shield human moderators from harmful content. We also use AI in the Discover algorithmic feed to serve you posts that we think you’d like. None of these are Gen AI systems trained on user content.
— Bluesky (@bsky.app) 2024-11-15T17:17:39.922Z

However, The Verge pointed out that Bluesky's robots.txt does not prevent OpenAI, Google, and other generative AI companies from scrapping data from the platform. Justifying this, spokesperson Emily Liu said that this is because of Bluesky's open and public nature. She also noted that similar to how robots.txt can't always prevent outside crawlers, the same applies here, but added that "we’d like to do our part to ensure that outside orgs respect user consent and are actively discussing within the team on how to achieve this."

Bluesky has gained momentum as people are seeking alternatives to X to post their thoughts and views without much restrictions, According to a stat tracker, the platform recently crossed 17 million users. Will Bluesky topple X, only time will tell.