A recent tweet from Twitch is angering the VTuber community after the streaming platform claimed that they were using artificial intelligence.
VTubing has been exploding on Twitch, with the category tag becoming one of the five most used in 2022. VTubing is when streamers use an animated avatar to represent them, but they are speaking and moving behind the scenes, using motion capture technology to make the avatars come to life. But not everyone is quite aware of the details behind the relatively new phenomenon, including Twitch.
On Dec. 22, Twitch tweeted out a video celebrating the top streamers using the VTuber tag. Unfortunately, the caption left the VTubing community angry and cringing. It read: “The VTuber tag brought both avatars and viewers together in one great space, with VTubers growing and creating AI like never before.”
The phrase “creating AI” got many VTubers riled up since it seemed like Twitch was completely misunderstanding and misrepresenting what VTubing actually is. VShojo’s business development manager Tomathin even weighed in: “Twitch I appreciate the love, but respectfully VTubing has nothing to do with AI at all.”
For many in the VTubing community, the concept that they are actually AI was insulting. Someone responded by saying the statement was insulting to not only the streamer, but the artist, the rigger, and whoever else was involved in creating the avatar and using the motion capture technology. There’s a lot of work involved and saying it’s just AI didn’t sit right with many VTubers.
What insulted VTubers the most was Twitch not seeming to understand what VTubing was despite being a platform dedicated to streaming. It was quite shocking that the company seemed so clueless about ongoing trends within its own platform and website. Others wondered why nobody working at Twitch would take the time to understand one of its most popular tags.
Many of the replies also questioned if the tweet itself was written by AI. As more and more people in the VTubing community expressed frustration with Twitch not understanding the immense amount of work it takes artists, streamers, and the devs behind various programs to support a VTuber, many questioned why the tweet was even still up.
It’s a sore spot for many VTubers as AI art continues to gain popularity since artists are often the ones creating avatars for VTubers.
Right now, the tweet has been viewed over 1.6 million times. There are almost 2,000 quote retweets, most of them from VTubers who want to share the correct definition with their community.
