CNBC's Steve Kovach joins 'The Exchange' to discuss Roblox Developer Conference and key topics that are coming out of it.

San Jose

The release of Open AI's ChatGPT has accelerated the development of artificial intelligence and warnings about its impact on society.

Rise of AI

Roblox has introduced a range of new features at its developer conference in San Jose, focusing on artificial intelligence and user safety. Key announcements include a generative AI tool that allows creators to generate virtual items through text prompts, streamlining the creation process for those without coding experience. The company also revealed real-time translation tools for voice chat, initially supporting a limited number of languages with plans to expand.

In addition to AI advancements, Roblox is launching a social feature called 'Moments', enabling users to share and edit short video clips within the app. Addressing ongoing safety concerns, particularly for its young user base, Roblox announced an age estimation feature using selfies to determine access levels and chat permissions. These updates are part of Roblox's ongoing efforts to enhance both the creative and safe environment of its platform.

Roblox developer conference kicks off

We've got a news alert here on Roblox. Steve Kovacs got that story. Steve. Hey there, Melissa. Yeah, I'm in San Jose, California at the Roblox Developers Conference. CEO Dave Buzucki, he's on stage right now going through a slew of announcements. Let me give you some of the most important ones on Roblox. On the artificial intelligence front, of course, that's what we care about, a new generative tool for creators within Roblox to make actionable items. You're seeing some examples of that here. You basically give it a prompt and say, this is the item I want to create, and it does it for you. This is really important because that's the primary way Roblox makes money, these virtual items that are sold for virtual currency. And, of course, the creators take a rake, and then Roblox, the platform itself, take a rake on top of that. Also on the AI front, some real-time translation tools for voice chat is also coming. That's pretty self-explanatory. I'm going to start in a few languages at first before expanding to more. And then there's another thing, a kind of social network of sorts called Moments. Think of it sort of like TikTok or clips you might see on YouTube, letting the creators of these games and players of these games show off what they do in little video clips they can edit within the app. I'm showing you that right here right now. But, look, obviously, anytime we talk about Roblox, guys, we also talk about safety. This is a platform dominated by young users, children, and teenagers. There have been a number of safety issues around this company. I don't have to rehash them. One of the key safety announcements, though, this week was age estimation for everyone, meaning you take a selfie, and the system kind of estimates what you look like and what your age is. And based on that, what experiences and what you're allowed to do in chat and so forth. And, by the way, there are so many more safety issues to go over and these announcements. I'm going to have CEO Dave Bozuki on with me at 4.15 and closing bell overtime to go over all of this. So tune in. You don't want to miss that, guys. Steve, can I ask you a potentially stupid question? But, I mean, it's a question that I have, and I'm not really that familiar with Roblox. But in terms of how it fits into the business model, these AI tools, it helps creators create things. At what point can AI actually displace creators' role on the platform in some way? And do they sell these tools? The tools are part of the creator platform, so you don't need to buy the tools, but you do get to use them to sell stuff. And that is actually something I want to talk about with Dave Bozuki when he's on with me in a couple hours here, is when are we going to get to the point, Melissa, where someone like me who has no coding experience, I don't know how to make a game, can go in here and just tell it what I want to do instead of drawing it or designing it myself. You can kind of see the opportunity here if you're not necessarily well-versed in this kind of stuff to be able to go on there and make money. And, by the way, for every bit of money someone, one of these creators makes, Roblox, of course, takes their own rig, too, as the platform owner. AI tools, digital currencies, social-like artificial virtual friends. No wonder the stocks tripled in the last year. It's everything the market's obsessed with right now.

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Roblox developer conference kicks off

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