'This Will Be Scary… But Necessary': Duolingo CEO Confirms Shift From Human Contractors To AI

In a strategic shift that signals the changing landscape of educational technology, Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn has announced the company's transition to an 'AI-first' approach for its popular language learning platform.

The announcement, shared both through an internal company-wide email and on Duolingo's LinkedIn page, outlines a plan to 'gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle,' according to von Ahn.

'We need to rethink much of how we work,' von Ahn explained in the communication, emphasizing that 'making minor tweaks to systems designed for humans won't get us there.'

Duolingo's 'AI-First' Strategy

Emphasising that 'making minor tweaks to systems designed for humans won't get us there, Luis von Ahn said that adopting an 'AI-first' strategy implies the company will 'need to rethink much of how we work.'

With this transition, the company will introduce 'a few constructive constraints,' which involve altering its engagement with contractors, exploring AI applications in recruitment and performance evaluations, and stipulating that 'headcount will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work.'

Despite the changes, von Ahn assures that 'Duolingo will remain a company that cares deeply about its employees and clarifies that 'this isn't about replacing Duos with AI.' Instead, he says that the changes are 'about removing bottlenecks' to enable employees to 'focus on creative work and real problems, not repetitive tasks.'

Duolingo Prioritises AI Over Human Input

'AI isn't just a productivity boost,' von Ahn said. 'It helps us get closer to our mission. To teach well, we need to create a massive amount of content, and doing that manually doesn't scale.'

'One of the best decisions we made recently was replacing a slow, manual content creation process with one powered by AI. Without AI, it would take us decades to scale our content to more learners. We owe it to our learners to get them this content ASAP,' von Ahn added.

Von Ahn's announcement echoes a recent communication from Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, who similarly instructed employees to demonstrate 'why they cannot get what they want done using AI' before requesting additional staff or resources. Lütke's memo was also made public.

Duolingo Introduces A Wave Of New AI-Powered Courses

Even as Duolingo outlines it's 'AI-first' vision and the evolving role of human contractors, the company is actively leveraging this technology to expand its educational offerings significantly. Duolingo recently announced the release of 148 brand-new courses.

This significant growth was facilitated by AI technology, an accomplishment the company notes has 'more than doubled' the number of courses it offers in less than 12 months.

'This launch makes Duolingo's seven most popular non-English languages—Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin—available to all 28 supported user interface (UI) languages, dramatically expanding learning options for over a billion potential learners worldwide.' the company said in a press release.

'Developing our first 100 courses took about 12 years, and now, in about a year, we're able to create and launch nearly 150 new courses,' said von Ahn. 'This is a great example of how generative AI can directly benefit our learners. This launch reflects the incredible impact of our AI and automation investments, which have allowed us to scale at unprecedented speed and quality,' the top executive added.

The 148 new language courses are mainly intended for those starting their language learning journey. These offerings include functionalities such as stories, which aids in building reading comprehension, and DuoRadio, which assists in developing listening skills. The company also anticipates adding more advanced content in the upcoming months.

User Concerns Arise Over Duolingo's AI Integration

Even as Duolingo promotes its adoption of AI, it draws negative reactions from its user base, many of whom are troubled by the platform's strategies to replace human contributors with AI and embed the technology further into the app's functionality.

The language learners have voiced their dissatisfaction with the company's intentions on social media platforms. Some contend that the incorporation of AI leads to a decline in the app's quality through imprecise and inferior content.

Consequently, some have uninstalled the application and urged others to do the same. This user exodus presents a significant challenge for Duolingo as it navigates its technological transformation. The company now faces difficult questions about whether efficiency gains from AI implementation are worth the potential sacrifice in educational quality and user satisfaction.