AI thirst rather than AI first: Duolingo boss rows back
In an internal memo, Luis von Ahn made a clear statement: there would only be new hires of people if the AI had to fit. What he says about it now.
(Image: Sulastri Sulastri/Shutterstock.com)
That was a clear announcement: while other company bosses were diplomatically hinting at wanting to explore the opportunities of AI, Luis von Ahn left no doubt in the spring as to where his company was heading. At Duolingo, the well-known language learning app, "AI first" would rule in future, the company's CEO wrote in an internal memo that leaked out and made headlines. Specifically, according to the circular, this meant, for example, that new hires would first have to prove that AI could not also take over the work. Previously, the company had already reduced the number of freelancers with reference to generative AI.
Almost six months after this became known, von Ahn is now publicly backtracking. He had provided too little context, he told the New York Times in an interview. Duolingo is still hiring at the same rate. And there have been no layoffs of full-time employees, he tries to correct the impression created. AI, he says, should primarily improve learning and not replace jobs.
The customers were at a loss for words
The clarification was preceded by vociferous protests and cancellations from the company's customers. The fact that an app that was made for people to learn languages apparently wanted to largely remove people from the creation process was anything but well received. Some also wondered why they should pay so much money if the content is AI-made when they could just as easily speak directly to an AI chatbot.
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Duolingo is a language-learning app that can now also teach other skills such as math, music and chess. It has around 130 million users, 90 percent of whom use the service for free and are shown advertising in return. However, Duolingo earns most of its money from the ten percent of users who pay: According to the "New York Times", they generate 80 to 90 percent of the revenue.
New format for AI development
However, the topic of AI is anything but off the table for the Duolingo boss, except that he is now adopting a much more conciliatory tone. Every Friday morning, for example, the company holds so-called "frAI-days". This gives all teams time to experiment with AI to work more efficiently. This frees up time for innovation and trial and error. Each team can decide for itself what it wants to work on – and without any pressure, he emphasizes.
(mki)
