Duolingo CEO says AI tutors will replace schools in future, schools will be only for childcare

India Today

19-05-2025

Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn has asserted that AI could become the primary educator and schools could turn into supervised spaces for children in the future. In a recent conversation on the No Priors podcast hosted by venture capitalist Sarah Guo, von Ahn said AI tutors will eventually be more effective and scalable than human teachers, prompting a change in the purpose schools serve.advertisementHe clarified that he doesn't see schools shutting down or teachers losing relevance entirely. Instead, the focus of schools could gradually move away from formal teaching and more towards providing a safe and structured environment where students are cared for, while the learning part happens through advanced AI systems.In traditional classrooms with large groups of students, providing personalised learning remains a major challenge. Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn believes AI can bridge this gap by adapting lessons to each student's individual pace and learning needs. Unlike human teachers, who may struggle to track every child's progress in a class of 30 or more, AI systems can instantly identify weaknesses and adjust content in real time, offering a level of precision that's difficult to achieve manually.He acknowledged that the transition would be slow. Education systems tend to resist change, often due to regulations, cultural expectations, and outdated infrastructure. However, he feels AI's role in classrooms is only going to expand, particularly in countries where scaling high-quality education is a pressing need.advertisementInterestingly, signs of this change are already visible in countries like South Korea. The country has introduced AI-powered digital textbooks in about 30 per cent of its schools since March this year. The update, reported by Nikkei Asia, shows a major change in how lessons are delivered. During a recent APEC education summit hosted by South Korea, officials demonstrated the use of these tools, including a live class in Jeju where students solved math problems on tablets while their answers appeared on a shared screen.The idea is to make learning more interactive and data-driven. However, there are hurdles — unequal access to digital tools in different regions and the need to train teachers to work alongside AI are among the concerns that need to be addressed. At the same time, the debate over AI's place in education isn't limited to school classrooms. LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman recently spoke about how universities also need to evolve as AI becomes an inevitable part of future learning.