Roblox's AI Age Guessing Game: Wizardry or Wishful Thinking?
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
Roblox is adding an AI age-guessing feature via video selfies, along with other safety measures for teens, but can tech really solve the platform's deep-rooted safety issues? It's a start, but the jury's still out on whether it's actual magic or just a distraction.
Right, so Roblox is rolling out some new safety features aimed at teenagers, and one of them involves an AI that… guesses your age from a video selfie? Colour me intrigued, and a little bit skeptical. According to IGN South Africa, (bless their souls for sifting through this), the idea is to give teens (13-17) more freedom on the platform while still keeping them (relatively) safe.
One key feature is "trusted connections," which let teens chat filter-free with people they *actually* know. The logic is, keep the conversations *on* Roblox, where they can (presumably) be monitored, rather than letting teens wander off to the wild west of unmoderated third-party apps. Sounds reasonable enough, right? Except, getting someone over 18 as a 'trusted connection' requires a QR code or contact importer. Because *that* is going to stop the truly determined wrong'uns, innit?
Now, about that AI age guesser… Instead of submitting government IDs (which, fair play, is a hassle), you can now just… film yourself? This AI then compares your mug to a “large, diverse dataset” to see if you look 13 or older. Google and Meta have dabbled in this sort of techno-sorcery before, but it still feels a bit like trusting a particularly enthusiastic house elf to sort your personal documents. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
Roblox is also chucking in some extra goodies: online status controls, a "do not disturb" mode, and parental controls. All standard fare, really.
But here's the thing: Roblox has been under the microscope for years regarding child safety. We’re talking about headlines involving virtual assaults, “sex rooms,” and accusations of exploiting child labor. I won’t rehash all the grim details (IGN does a solid job of that), but suffice it to say, Roblox has a reputation to scrub clean. They even reported over 13,000 incidents to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children last year, which led to arrests. Bloody hell.
Roblox's chief safety officer, Matt Kaufman, said safety is "foundational" and they want to "lead the world in safety and civility for online gaming." Noble aspirations, to be sure. But can an AI that judges your age from a selfie truly fix a problem this deep-seated? I reckon it's a step, but a tiny one in what needs to be a massive leap. The company has been attempting to address these issues, but there are still many issues to work out. Whether it can truly fix those problems or if the platform will start using Web3 technology to address those issues remains to be seen. For now, let's keep a watchful eye on how these new features actually play out in the real world.
Tags: Roblox, Child Safety, AI, Gaming News, Online Safety
Original article: IGN South Africa