Mastodon MigrationMar 12, 2025

Bluesky To Sell Your Content To AI Data Miners

So it begins. Hidden in Jay Graber's recent charm offensive is this innocuously framed initiative: Bluesky is weighing a proposal that gives users consent over how their data is used for AI (https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/10/bluesky-is-weighing-a-proposal-that-gives-users-consent-over-how-their-data-is-used-for-ai/)

Not so fast.

1) Shows they are planning on doing content deals with AI companies.
2) Seems like it is Opt-out vs. Opt-in (see below).
3) It is just a voluntary robots.txt file

h/t @Lydie https://tech.lgbt/@Lydie/114149023344861046

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#Bluesky

Bluesky is weighing a proposal that gives users consent over how their data is used for AI | TechCrunch

Speaking at the SXSW conference in Austin on Monday, Bluesky CEO Jay Graber said the social network has been working on a framework for user consent over

TechCrunch
Show threadMastodon MigrationMar 12, 2025

@Lydie

Let's get into this. #Bluesky is bleeding money and selling your data is the best way they have of "monetizing" you. So why not frame it as a "voluntary" initiative?

Thing is, seems like it will be opt-out. See this github 'proposal': https://github.com/bluesky-social/proposals/tree/main/0008-user-intents

"Suppose a Bluesky user does not want any of their public data to be used for generative AI training. They would go in to app settings, find the data reuse preferences section, and configure “Generative AI” to “disallow”.

more...

proposals/0008-user-intents at main · bluesky-social/proposals

Bluesky proposal discussions. Contribute to bluesky-social/proposals development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHub
Show threadMastodon MigrationMar 12, 2025

@Lydie

Opt-out vs. Opt-in is a crucial thing. 90% of users never change the default setting.

Oh, and when we dig into the github doc, it is not just AI.

"The initial categories described here include:
generative AI
protocol bridging
bulk datasets
public archiving and preservation"

What are these "bulk datasets" that Bluesky would be selling?

Just more 'distributed' Bluesky trickery. And if you don't like it, Jay Graber says you can "fork off": https://mastodon.online/@mastodonmigration/114140940924285320

Mastodon Migration (@[email protected])

Now Bluesky's Jay Graber is simply lying. “If a billionaire came in and bought Bluesky and took it over, or I decided tomorrow to change things in a way that people didn’t really like, then they could fork off and go on to other applications.” https://observer.com/2025/03/bluesky-ceo-jay-graber-wants-world-without-caesars/ Of course, this makes absolutely no sense, but tech media dutifully just prints it. What does "fork off and go on to other applications" mean? What is it she is even saying? Getting really tired of this gaslighting BS.

Mastodon
Show threadMastodon Migration

@Lydie

Let's just try one more thought exercise. Let's say Eugen Rochko told tech media that all content on mastodon.social was going to be sold to AI scapers and "bulk dataset" brokers, but you had the ability to "opt-out" by checking a box that would insert the robots.txt header.

Can you imagine?

And yet, Jay Graber's announcement flies under the radar. This is what happens when you've constructed a cult of personality around your enshittification. Enough of the gaslighting.

#Bluesky

Mar 12, 2025 at 4:16pmWeb
Show threadMastodon MigrationMar 13, 2025

@Lydie

In the comments below some defenders of this #Bluesky opt-out AI scraping change say something like, "It just gives users more control over their content." Like it is a good thing. This is baloney.

You don't need to put a sign on your car saying it is not okay to break into this car. It's your car.

This "control of your own data" argument is nonsense. You have control of your own data, it's yours. All you can be tricked into doing is giving it away.

Show threadLukefromDCMar 13, 2025

@mastodonmigration @Lydie One of the best ways to fuck wirh AI is to set up a bot that will be obvious to and only to humans, and feed the AI output back to the input.

Enough of this will give the AI the electronic equivalent of an LSD trip. Add war footage for an electronix K-hole (NOT the same as a pi-hole!) or other bad trip.

Show threadDP0Mar 12, 2025

@mastodonmigration @Lydie As effective as taking a shower in public and placing "please respect my privacy - do not look" sign.

But frankly, using services that inherently require resources and labour to be provided for free, without having an idea how they are being funded, requires either a considerable level of naïvity or utter indifference.

Show threadJon JuarezMar 12, 2025

@mastodonmigration @Lydie

If Eugen Rochko did the same as #Bluesky and put the "Social." data up for sale, the users would move to another instance and the value of social would be 0 euros... Thanks for that #fediverse.