Interview with Roblox CEO kicks off with an unbelievable answer about its predator problem being 'not just a problem, but an opportunity,' and somehow just gets crazier from there

Roblox CEO David Baszucki is taking heat for a recent podcast interview with the New York Times, in which he discussed the platform's new AI-powered age gating technology, dismissed accusations that Roblox has a predator problem, and got into a bit of a high-strung back-and-forth with the interviewer over the company's approach to moderation.

The interview starts off with a real bang: When asked what he thinks of "the problem of predators on Roblox," Baszucki replies, "We think of it not necessarily just as a problem, but an opportunity as well. How do we allow young people to build, communicate and hang out together? How do we build the future of communication at the same time?"

Yeah, that's sure one way to look at it, and squinting very hard I can sort of see it as a very poorly worded but otherwise okay answer: There is a problem, and by solving it Roblox can lead the way on the development of effective moderation tools for everyone. Okay, fine.

But as the interview continues, Baszucki comes up very short on specifics, talking about using "behavioral signals" with facial scans and other systems "that can really help us make cool decisions," and of course about the power of AI, but offering nothing of real substance.

He's similarly vague when asked why it's taken so long for Roblox to implement some of these systems, in particular one that aims to restrict conversations on the platform to "bands" of certain age groups. And when the interviewer pointed out that predators don't seem to have had much trouble getting around Roblox's systems up to this point, Baszucki said he didn't want to comment on it. He also appeared to deny that there's a problem with predators on Roblox at all, acknowledging that it's something seen in lawsuits and the media but saying he "categorically reject[s]" the interviewer's characterization.

A bit after that, it starts to get weird. When asked about a Hindenburg Research report claiming that Roblox was reducing its spending on trust and safety, Baszucki first pointed out that Hindenburg research is no longer in business, and then asked the interviewer "if you’ve done your own research."

Then, after turning the question into a weird hypothetical, with which the interviewer agreed, Baszucki said, "Good, so you're aligning with what we did. High five," and then continued to interject on attempts to complete the question, before suggesting that he wasn't expecting the interview to be entirely about Roblox safety systems: "If our PR people said, 'Let’s talk about age-gating for an hour,' I’m up for it, but I love your pod, I thought I came here to talk about everything."

The NYT headline says the interview "got tense," but from an outsider's perspective it really just seems awkward as hell. Baszucki comes off as woefully unprepared to do much beyond touting the ill-defined capabilities of AI, and while his "high five" interjections may have had a certain combative edge, to me it all comes off as far too ridiculous to be a serious drop the gloves moment.

Kevin Roose, one of the NYT interviewers, said on X that the chat with Baszucki "might be the craziest interview we've ever done," but Baszucki doubled down, replying, "Looking forward to the next time - High Five!"

It all seems astonishingly tone deaf, which is particularly baffling considering the tremendous amount of pressure Roblox is currently facing: The US states of Louisiana, Kentucky, and Texas have all filed lawsuits against Roblox Corporation over the past few months over its alleged failure to protect children from predators, while Florida is conducting a criminal investigation into the company. In circumstances like that, you'd expect big companies to move with extra caution, yet Baszucki is out there blasting from the hip. It's entertaining, in an odd sort of fashion, but it sure doesn't seem like a great idea to me.

As the interview ground to a conclusion, Baszucki dropped one more incredibly ill-conceived statement. After the subject of Polymarket came up, when asked if he'd ever put a "prediction market" in Roblox—essentially a platform that allows gambling on future events like sports scores, the presidential election in Chile, or how many tweets Elon Musk will post on a particular day—Baszucki actually says yes. When the interviewer clarifies that he thinks it's "a horrible idea," Baszucki continues, "I actually think it’s a brilliant idea if it can be done in an educational way that’s legal. And so, imagine no free Robux, no free prizes, just a game called the Dress to Impress Predictor, where it’s not like trying to get kids’ money or anything like that. I would be a big fan of it."

"Start them young," the interviewer replies. "That’s what I always say. When it comes to gambling, you’re never too young."

Well, this is the same guy who earlier this year expressed interest in adding a dating service to Roblox someday, despite—again—persistent concerns about the presence of predators on the platform and Roblox's seeming inability to protect young users from them. Yeah, that's not great.