Roblox CEO: Human reviewers are key to keeping the metaverse safe
06 June 2021
Roblox CEO David Baszucki says in an "Axios on HBO" interview that he is confident that his company can keep kids safe even as adults and children mix in increasingly complex digital worlds.
Why it matters: Roblox is among the companies trying to create a Ready Player One-like "metaverse," while trying to avoid the dystopian future often associated with such virtual environments.
Baszucki said he takes a decidedly optimistic view on the future, backed up by a mix of human reviewers and algorithms to ensure people aren't bullied or exploited.
- "Everything is reviewed by over 2,000 real life humans, in addition to all the cool ML and AI stuff," Baszucki said in an interview with Axios on HBO. "We do a lot of filtering and screening with text and communication as well."
The big picture: The metaverse is where Roblox sees its future, with Baszucki saying he sees opportunities in education and even for the workplace in Roblox's future.
- Roblox isn't alone. In addition to Fortnite and Microsoft's Minecraft, Facebook said Friday it was buying Unit 2 Games, the studio behind Crayta —a Roblox-like platform, which Facebook plans to integrate it into its own gaming effort.
Baszucki said he thinks he has all the tools he needs to keep Roblox safe and doesn't need any new government interventions.
- "If the government means laws or regulations, I think we hold ourself to a much higher standard," he said. "So I think our moral, ethical values would go way above that."
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.