At the SXSW conference in Austin, Bluesky CEO Jay Graber revealed that the social network is working on a framework to allow users to consent to how their data is used for generative AI. This move comes as a response to the growing demand for AI training data and the need for users to have control over their online content.

The issue of user consent has been a pressing concern, particularly in the wake of discoveries that Bluesky's public nature has allowed others to train their AI systems on users' content without permission. Last year, 404 Media found a dataset built from 1 million Bluesky posts hosted on Hugging Face, highlighting the need for a more transparent and user-centric approach to AI data usage.

Bluesky's competitor, X, has also been criticized for its approach to AI data usage. The platform has been feeding users' posts into its sister company xAI to train its AI chatbot Grok, and last fall, it changed its privacy policy to allow third parties to train their AI on users' X posts. This move sparked an exodus of users from X to Bluesky, contributing to the latter's rapid growth to over 32 million users in just two years.

Despite not planning to train its own AI systems on users' posts, Bluesky recognizes the importance of establishing a clear framework for user consent. Graber explained that the company has engaged with partners to develop a system that allows users to specify how they want their Bluesky content to be used – or not used – for generative AI. This approach prioritizes user choice and autonomy, ensuring that users have a say in how their data is utilized.

The proposed framework, currently available on GitHub, involves obtaining user consent at the account level or even at the post level. This consent would then be respected by other companies, providing a standardized approach to AI data usage. Graber likened this system to the robots.txt file used by websites to specify whether they want to be scraped by search engines or not. While search engines can still scrape websites, the robots.txt file is widely respected, and Graber hopes to see a similar adoption of this framework.

The development of this framework is a positive step towards addressing concerns around AI data usage and user consent. As the demand for AI training data continues to grow, it is essential that users have a say in how their data is used. Bluesky's commitment to user autonomy and transparency sets a promising precedent for the tech industry, and its open-source, decentralized approach could pave the way for a more equitable and user-centric AI landscape.

As the tech industry continues to grapple with the implications of AI on user data, Bluesky's framework serves as a beacon of hope for a more responsible and user-focused approach. With its commitment to user consent and transparency, Bluesky is poised to become a leader in the AI ethics space, and its influence could have far-reaching implications for the future of AI development.