Roblox is introducing a new chat AI feature in an effort to improve security while keeping users from feeling completely left out in the dark. Roblox has made many recent tweaks to the chat functionality, likely in part due to the criticism it has faced regarding the safety of children on the platform.
As is the case with many games and online experiences these days, this isn't the first time Roblox have looked to AI to solve their problems. Back in January, Roblox started using an AI powered age checker which is designed to look at pictures or video of the user and determine their age group. Once categorized, age groups are separated from each other, with limits on which groups can communicate. However, that update received a lot of backlash from users, as many found after being categorized that they could no longer communicate with friends they had previously chatted with, and those affected saw their Roblox chat history with said individuals disappears. Now, Roblox trying another method to protect children in the chat.
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Roblox rolls out AI-powered chat summaries
Roblox is now testing in-game AI chat summaries in an effort to further improve safety for children Roblox while helping users not feel as left out. After the aforementioned introduction of chat brackets, when a conversation was in progress in Robloxusers would see all messages from age groups inaccessible to those who blocked with a lock, so users would know that chats were going on, but not what users were talking about. Now the gaming platform sets up a digest AI that shows what the general conversation is about, even if the user can't see any of the specific messages being sent. These summaries are pre-filtered, so if a chat contains inappropriate conversations, they will not be included in the summary.
In theory, this means that if many Roblox users from different restricted age groups chat on a server together, a conversation can be held, although the players cannot see what each individual person is saying. Users who can chat with each other can follow the same topic in their own conversations if they wish. However, users are also given the option to opt out of the AI feature, which will prevent their messages from becoming part of the digest for other users.
At the moment, this feature is only being tested, so not everyone will necessarily see it in the game right now. In addition, it is possible to Roblox may ultimately decide not to use the feature, or change it significantly before it gets a global rollout. At the same time, Roblox is also testing a global chat feature that allows players to communicate across multiple servers. However, the global chat will still be limited by things like age groups, languages, and so on.
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Rearrange the cases in the correct US release order.
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This is just the latest effort of Roblox to use AI in meaningful ways in the game. In addition to determining age and summarizing the chat, Roblox has previously introduced a chat rewording feature that modifies messages to keep them neutral and free of profanity. Part of the goal is to prevent players from seeing strings of text that have been censored to “#####” by instead filtering out and/or rewording the offensive parts of a message. However, these features are limited to chat, so there may still be ways for users to get around them, as before, when Roblox players used in-game graffiti to spread hate speech.
- Released
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September 1, 2006
- ESRB
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Teen / Diverse Content: Discretion Recommended, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items), User Interact
- Developer
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Roblox Corporation
- Publisher
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Roblox Corporation
