5 controversial AI-powered streamers on Twitch and YouTube

No other burgeoning segment has captivated the digital entertainment landscape quite like AI streamers in recent times. With their impeccably realistic and interactive virtual personas, thanks to the advancements in AI technology, these meta-defining content creators have captivated audiences like no one else.

That said, these AI-powered streamers have been surrounded by their fair share of controversies. These can be largely underlined because a majority of these AI streamers rely on a chatbot model instead of a nuanced Large Language Model. Since chatbots depend on the internet for their information, they absorb any explicit and implicit bias, sometimes resulting in factually incorrect answers or nonsensical scenarios.

Without further ado, here are some of the most controversial AI streamers who have made headlines for the wrong reasons in the recent past.

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Neuro-sama and four other controversial AI-powered streamers

1) Kwebbelkop

The first entry on this list is technically not an AI-powered streamer in the traditional sense. However, Jordi "Kwebbelkop", a Dutch YouTuber, made headlines in August 2023 after he decided to switch to a virtual persona as the face of his channel instead of his real self. As expected, Jordi was heavily scrutinized for his laziness, perceived lack of authenticity, and the financial incentives that might have affected his decision.

Following the heavy criticism, Jordi doubled down and uploaded a YouTube video titled "The End of Kwebbelkop AI..." which revealed that the person in the video was entirely AI and not real at all. This video drew even more criticism, with fans stating their thoughts about lazy AI-generated content being used for financial gain.

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2) UnlimitedSteam

UnlimitedSteam was a Twitch streamer that would stream different iterations and parodies of the iconic "steamed hams" scene from the popular American animated sitcom The Simpsons. The stream essentially revisited the core storylines with different dialogues every time and amassed a cult following on Twitch between February and April 2023.

However, this AI-powered Twitch streamer was banned from the platform in late April without any explanation from Twitch. Fans speculated as to the reason until one X user suggested the following clip was one of the reasons why the channel, which was among the most watched AI streams, was instantly perma-banned.

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3) WatchMeForever

The next entry on the list features another AI-powered Twitch streamer that used a well-known television series as the base for its content. Powered by ChatGPT, the WatchMeForever channel would stream a continuous sequence of scenes contacting characters from the iconic sitcom Seinfeld.

The channel had been live since January 2023 and was among the most-watched AI creators on the platform before an unfortunate glitch forced the channel to revert to an older edition of its language model. This resulted in one of the characters using derogatory slurs and denigrating LGBTQIA+ people and a subsequent two-week suspension from the platform. Currently, the channel has over 173K followers.

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4) ai_sponge247

Continuing the trend of using an iconic television series as the base of their content, ai_sponge was a Twitch channel that used to stream parody recreations of the popular kids' show Spongebob. What set this particular Twitch channel apart from the aforementioned entries in the list was the fact the content on this channel was meant to be edgy.

Considering this, it should surprise no one that the content on this ai_sponge would say controversial things and slurs ever so often. Ultimately, the channel got permanently banned from Twitch, with the exact reasons still a mystery. However, many social media users have speculated it was due to the fact that Patrick would keep trying to fornicate with Spongebob aside from the usage of slurs and other aspersions of character.

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5) Neuro-sama (Vedal987)

Wrapping up this list is none other than the groundbreaking AI streamer who started this new era of the live entertainment industry, Neuro-sama. A creation of Vedal987, Neuro-sama appears to be a generic VTuber that engages with their chat and reacts to videos. However, unlike any other VTuber, Neuro-sama operates independently without any human inputs.

Neuro-sama was banned in January 2023 after clips of the AI-powered content creator went viral on social after it denied and joked about the Holocaust. This resulted in a two-week ban, following which Vedal987 announced he would be making updates and improvements to the model to avoid such situations in the future.