Sega's Sonic AR event requires sign-ups to consent to AI training

Fans gathered for what appeared to be an alternate-reality game tied to Sonic's 35th anniversary — a Chaos Emeralds hunt with free events in Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago and New York and prizes like enamel pins or a Leblon Delienne sculpture — only to find the sign-up process hides a data collection requirement.

The official site’s Terms of Service, visible before entering personal details, says the hunt is being run "on behalf of SEGA via Community," a mass-texting tool that uses AI-generated messages. Giving the service your information means consenting to collection, use and processing of that data for the improvement, development and training of AI models and tools.

Community’s terms add that data could be used to "enhance our proprietary AI models," made available to third-party providers, and retained as part of an AI model’s knowledge base. The disclosure prompted backlash online, with some fans likening the move to the actions of series villain Dr.

United States, Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, New York

sega, sonic, ar event, chaos emeralds, community, ai training, data collection, consent, ai models, third party