Duolingo has announced it will begin replacing many of its contract workers with artificial intelligence.
The decision was informed through a company-wide email by CEO Luis von Ahn, which reflects the company’s changing stance to turn into an “AI-first” company.
“We can’t wait until the technology is 100% perfect,” von Ahn wrote. “We’d rather move with urgency and take occasional small hits on quality than move slowly and miss the moment.”
Why Duolingo Shifts to AI
The change means Duolingo will prioritize AI in hiring decisions. It means if a task can be automated, it will be, according to the post on LinkedIn
While full-time employees remain unaffected, contractors whose roles are easily replicated by AI tools are being phased out.
This comes after earlier reductions in 2023 and early 2024, when Duolingo began using AI-generated content to scale its lessons more quickly.
Despite concerns about job displacement, von Ahn maintains that AI is a tool to accelerate access to education. “Without AI, it would take us decades to scale out content to more learners,” he said.
Duolingo’s AI push seems to be resonating with investors: its stock has surged 68% over the past year, buoyed by rising subscription revenues and expansion into music and chess learning.
Leaders from Uber, Shopify, and LinkedIn have also adopted similar moves, where it urged teams to embrace AI, not resist it. As von Ahn quipped last year. “Eventually, our AI might do my job too, and I can finally retire.”
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