Will Schools Exist In AI Future? Duolingo CEO Makes Prediction
Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn has claimed that schools might still be around in the future with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), but their function could shift dramatically. As per Mr Von Ahn, schools may increasingly serve as childcare centres and supervised environments, while AI looks after most of the actual education.
"Education is going to change. It's just a lot more scalable to teach with AI than with teachers," said Mr Von Ahn on the No Priors podcast.
"That doesn't mean the teachers are going to go away. You still need people to take care of the students. I also don't think schools are going to go away because you still need childcare."
Citing the example of a classroom with 30 students, Mr Von Ahn said a teacher might not be able to offer personalised learning to each student. However, AI, on the other hand, will be able to track individual performance in real time and adjust lesson plans to suit the speed of the child.
"You still need people to take care of the students but the computer can know very precisely what you're good at and bad at - something a teacher just can't track for 30 students at once."
Since ChatGPT's release in 2022, AI culture has been revolutionised across the globe. Students were the early adopters of the technology and now schools and other higher education institutions are scurrying to keep up with the pace of change.
As for companies such as Duolingo, AI is already a big part of their future. Last month, the language-learning platform announced that it would "gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle".
The company justified its switch in approach, stating that it 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," said Mr Von Ahn in the all-hands memo, posted on Duolingo's LinkedIn page.
Apart from not using contractors anymore, Duolingo will use AI to evaluate performance reviews. Additionally, headcounts will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work.
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