Roblox unveils seamless multilingual chat translation AI

Global – Roblox has announced the roll-out of a new AI translation model designed to convert text chats effortlessly in a variety of languages.

Covering 16 languages, including English, French, Japanese and Polish, this innovative feature aims to foster smoother communication among users. Dan Sturman, Roblox’s chief technology officer, told The Verge the company’s objective was to enhance user interaction by ensuring mutual comprehension. The translation process is automatic, but users retain the option to view the original message with a simple click.

The development of this translation capability involved the integration of a transformer-based large language model (LLM) within a mixture of experts (MoE) architecture. This efficient set-up enables Roblox to provide multilingual support without the need for separate LLMs for each language, optimising resource utilisation. Sturman emphasised that privacy and safety remain paramount, with stringent monitoring for prohibited content and mechanisms in place to gather user feedback for continuous improvement.

This latest advance underlines Roblox’s commitment to diversity, which, as revealed in Why Gaming is Your Next Brand Touchpoint, is lagging behind and requires investment in both time and effort.