In a groundbreaking development, online gaming platform Roblox has leveraged its in-house Large Language Model (LLM) to introduce an AI-powered "unified translation model." This revolutionary system empowers users to engage in real-time, cross-language conversations within the metaverse, irrespective of their native languages. With support for 16 languages and a minimal base latency of 100 milliseconds, the new translation model ensures instant and seamless communication for millions of Roblox users worldwide.


Roblox's Chief Technology Officer, Dan Sturman, revealed that this sophisticated translator marks a significant leap beyond the platform's existing capabilities. Unlike traditional translation mechanisms, this new system translates text-based messages in real-time, delivering a fluid conversational experience. Sturman vividly described the impact of this advancement by highlighting the scenario of two individuals, each typing in their native language without realizing that they are communicating across languages. This seamless interaction demonstrates the effectiveness of Roblox's unified translation model.


The journey to creating this cutting-edge solution presented formidable challenges for Roblox. The primary obstacles included designing a system that could facilitate independent translation between all 16 supported languages and ensuring swift, real-time translations. To address these challenges, Roblox developed a unified, transformer-based translation LLM capable of managing all language pairs within a single model. This innovative approach eliminated the need to build separate models for each language pair, streamlining the translation process.


The development and training process for the unified translation model involved a mixture of public and proprietary data, expert translation applications, and the incorporation of human evaluators. Additionally, Roblox incorporated measures to ensure accurate translations, even for less common language pairs, by employing back translation and quality estimation models. The translator was also equipped to comprehend human slang, with constant updates provided by human evaluators to keep the system aligned with contemporary language usage.


The impact of this groundbreaking translator on user engagement has been substantial, driving enhanced session quality and increased user interaction within the metaverse. With Roblox boasting 70 million daily active users across 180 countries and facilitating over 2.4 billion daily messages, the implementation of this AI-powered translator has significantly enriched the platform's multilingual communication dynamics.


The significant strides made by Roblox in advancing real-time AI translation align with the evolving landscape of digital assets and metaverse experiences. As the metaverse expands and digital interactions become increasingly diverse and global, robust language translation mechanisms are pivotal in fostering inclusive and immersive experiences for users.


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(TOM MITCHELHILL, COINTELEGRAPH, 2024)