News Warner Logo

News Warner

Duolingo will replace contract workers with AI

Duolingo will replace contract workers with AI

  • Duolingo will transition to an “AI-first” approach, gradually phasing out contract workers for tasks that can be handled by AI.
  • The company aims to rethink its work processes and make significant changes to how it works with contractors, hiring, and performance reviews, all guided by the use of AI.
  • Duolingo will prioritize removing bottlenecks and allowing employees to focus on creative work and real problems, rather than repetitive tasks, through increased training, mentorship, and tooling for AI.
  • The company will only grant headcount if a team cannot automate more of their work, indicating a shift towards leveraging AI to drive efficiency and productivity.

Duolingo co-founder and CEO Luis von Ahn. | Photo: Getty Images

Duolingo will “gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle,” according to an all-hands email sent by co-founder and CEO Luis von Ahn announcing that the company will be “AI-first.” The email was posted on Duolingo’s LinkedIn account.

According to von Ahn, being “AI-first” means the company will “need to rethink much of how we work” and that “making minor tweaks to systems designed for humans won’t get us there.” As part of the shift, the company will roll out “a few constructive constraints,” including the changes to how it works with contractors, looking for AI use in hiring and in performance reviews, and that “headcount will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work.”

von Ahn says that “Duolingo will remain a company that cares deeply about its employees” and that “this isn’t about replacing Duos with AI.” Instead, he says that the changes are “about removing bottlenecks” so that employees can “focus on creative work and real problems, not repetitive tasks.”

“AI isn’t just a productivity boost,” von Ahn says. “It helps us get closer to our mission. To teach well, we need to create a massive amount of content, and doing that manually doesn’t scale. One of the best decisions we made recently was replacing a slow, manual content creation process with one powered by AI. Without AI, it would take us decades to scale our content to more learners. We owe it to our learners to get them this content ASAP.”

von Ahn’s email follows a similar memo Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke sent to employees and recently shared online. In that memo, Lütke said that before teams asked for more headcount or resources, they needed to show “why they cannot get what they want done using AI.”

Here’s the text of von Ahn’s memo from Duolingo’s LinkedIn post:

I’ve said this in Q&As and many meetings, but I want to make it official: Duolingo is going to be AI-first.

AI is already changing how work gets done. It’s not a question of if or when. It’s happening now. When there’s a shift this big, the worst thing you can do is wait. In 2012, we bet on mobile. While others were focused on mobile companion apps for websites, we decided to build mobile-first because we saw it was the future. That decision helped us win the 2013 iPhone App of the Year and unlocked the organic word-of-mouth growth that followed.

Betting on mobile made all the difference. We’re making a similar call now, and this time the platform shift is AI.

AI isn’t just a productivity boost. It helps us get closer to our mission. To teach well, we need to create a massive amount of content, and doing that manually doesn’t scale. One of the best decisions we made recently was replacing a slow, manual content creation process with one powered by AI. Without AI, it would take us decades to scale our content to more learners. We owe it to our learners to get them this content ASAP.

AI also helps us build features like Video Call that were impossible to build before. For the first time ever, teaching as well as the best human tutors is within our reach.

Being AI-first means we will need to rethink much of how we work. Making minor tweaks to systems designed for humans won’t get us there. In many cases, we’ll need to start from scratch. We’re not going to rebuild everything overnight, and some things-like getting AI to understand our codebase-will take time. However, we can’t wait until the technology is 100% perfect. We’d rather move with urgency and take occasional small hits on quality than move slowly and miss the moment.

We’ll be rolling out a few constructive constraints to help guide this shift:

We’ll gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle

AI use will be part of what we look for in hiring

AI use will be part of what we evaluate in performance reviews

Headcount will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work

Most functions will have specific initiatives to fundamentally change how they work

All of this said, Duolingo will remain a company that cares deeply about its employees. This isn’t about replacing Duos with AI. It’s about removing bottlenecks so we can do more with the outstanding Duos we already have. We want you to focus on creative work and real problems, not repetitive tasks. We’re going to support you with more training, mentorship, and tooling for AI in your function.

Change can be scary, but I’m confident this will be a great step for Duolingo. It will help us better deliver on our mission — and for Duos, it means staying ahead of the curve in using this technology to get things done.

-Luis

link

Q. What is Duolingo’s new approach to work?
A. Duolingo will be “AI-first,” meaning it will need to rethink much of how it works and make significant changes to its systems.

Q. Why is Duolingo shifting towards an AI-first approach?
A. To remove bottlenecks and allow employees to focus on creative work and real problems, rather than repetitive tasks.

Q. How will Duolingo use AI in hiring?
A. AI use will be part of what Duolingo looks for in hiring, as the company aims to find candidates who can effectively utilize AI tools.

Q. What changes can we expect in performance reviews at Duolingo?
A. AI use will also be part of what Duolingo evaluates in performance reviews, helping to identify employees who are leveraging AI effectively.

Q. Will Duolingo reduce its workforce as a result of this shift?
A. No, Duolingo aims to support its existing employees with more training, mentorship, and tooling for AI in their functions.

Q. What is the goal of using AI at Duolingo?
A. To create a massive amount of content that can be scaled up quickly, rather than relying on manual processes that don’t scale well.

Q. How will Duolingo ensure its employees are prepared to work with AI?
A. The company plans to provide more training, mentorship, and tooling for AI in various functions to support its employees.

Q. What is the timeline for implementing these changes at Duolingo?
A. While some changes may happen quickly, others will take time, as the company aims to move with urgency but not rush into perfection.

Q. Is this shift about replacing human workers with AI?
A. No, according to CEO Luis von Ahn, this is about removing bottlenecks and allowing employees to focus on creative work and real problems, rather than repetitive tasks.

Q. What was Duolingo’s decision in 2012 that helped the company win the iPhone App of the Year award?
A. The company decided to build mobile-first, which helped it win the award and unlock organic word-of-mouth growth.