After Backlash, Duolingo CEO Backtracks On AI Push: "Don't See It Replacing..."

Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn has seemingly backtracked on his comments about artificial intelligence (AI) gradually replacing the contract workers at his company after facing extreme backlash. Mr Von Ahn said the language-learning platform will continue to hire human workers and support the existing employees.

As per the Duolingo boss, his previous statement had not gone down well, which prompted him to follow it up internally with the employees and issue another clarifying statement.

"To be clear: I do not see AI as replacing what our employees do (we are in fact continuing to hire at the same speed as before)," Mr Von Ahn wrote in a LinkedIn post.

"I see it as a tool to accelerate what we do, at the same or better level of quality. And the sooner we learn how to use it, and use it responsibly, the better off we will be in the long run."

Mr Von Ahn said he did not exactly know "what's going to happen with AI", but added that it was fundamentally going to change how humans work.

"No one is expected to navigate this shift alone. We're developing workshops and advisory councils, and carving out dedicated experimentation time to help all our teams learn and adapt."

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What did Duolingo CEO claim?

In an all-hands memo, Mr Von Ahn announced that Duolingo will be pivoting to an "AI-first" approach to scale its business. He justified the switch in approach, stating the company had taken a similar call in 2012 by betting big on mobile.

"I've said this in Q&As and many meetings, but I want to make it official: Duolingo is going to be Al-first. Al is already changing how work gets done. It's not a question of if or when. It's happening now," he said.

Apart from not using contractors anymore, Mr Von Ahn said Duolingo will use AI to evaluate performance reviews. Additionally, headcounts will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work.

"AI isn't just a productivity boost. 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."

As his post went viral, social media users slammed him for greed and taking away real jobs.