Duolingo CEO says AI won't cost full-time jobs, just make each worker do a lot more

India Today

3 hours ago

Earlier this year in April, Duolingo co-founder and CEO Luis von Ahn announced that the company would be transitioning to an 'AI-first' operational model. He explained that Duolingo would gradually reduce its reliance on contractors for manual work and instead make greater use of AI. However, the announcement quickly sparked fears that artificial intelligence could wipe out full-time jobs at the company. Months later, von Ahn is now dismissing the idea of AI replacing humans, saying that the plan is not about layoffs but about using technology to boost productivity.advertisementSpeaking in a recent interview with The New York Times, von Ahn admitted that his April memo announcing Duolingo's pivot towards AI had been misunderstood outside the company. The memo had outlined a policy of hiring only when managers could prove that a role could not be automated, and a gradual reduction in contract staff for work 'that AI can handle,'. Many, however, according to him interpreted this as a signal of wider job cuts.'This was on me. I did not give enough context,' von Ahn said. 'We've never laid off any full-time employees. We don't plan to.' He stressed that the changes linked to Duolingo's AI shift mainly affect contractors, whose numbers have always fluctuated according to demand.
Von Ahn also underlined that AI is not replacing staff at Duolingo but reshaping the way they work. 'What will probably happen is that one person will be able to accomplish more, rather than having fewer people,' he explained. He added that tasks which once took years can now be completed in weeks with the help of large language models.The Pittsburgh-based company, which went public in 2021, currently employs more than 1,000 people and reported 130 million monthly active users at the end of June. Despite the shift towards AI, von Ahn says Duolingo's headcount remains steady, with new hires and nearly 50 summer interns still joining the workforce.Ahn notes that Duolingo has made use of automation since its launch in 2011. But the arrival of advanced language models in the past two years has accelerated those efforts. These models can simulate conversations in ways that are particularly useful for learners, according to von Ahn. To ensure employees adapt to the shift, he revealed that Duolingo has introduced 'F-r-A-I-days'which are weekly sessions where Duolingo encourages its staff to experiment with AI tools and explore how they might make their work more efficient. Von Ahn said the aim of the new strategy is to help its employees view AI as an ally rather than a threat.- Ends