Duolingo is adopting an “AI-first” method to its enterprise, and the language studying platform will scale back its reliance on human contract staff because it assigns AI their responsibilities.
In a memo to employees on Monday, Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn detailed the corporate’s official “AI-first” stance.
“AI is already altering how work will get performed,” Ahn wrote in an electronic mail publicly shared via Duolingo’s LinkedIn account. “When there is a shift this massive, the worst factor you are able to do is wait.”
As a part of its AI-first technique, Duolingo will shift workloads from contractors to AI and “steadily cease utilizing contractors to do work that AI can deal with,” per the e-mail. The corporate will even reward AI use in hiring new workers and in efficiency critiques of present workers. Groups will moreover solely be permitted to rent new members if the group can not automate the work.
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Duolingo has eradicated contract staff in favor of AI earlier than. Final 12 months, the corporate cut 10% of its contractors after reportedly deciding to make use of AI for translations.
Nevertheless, Ahn reassured employees within the electronic mail that “Duolingo will stay an organization that cares deeply about its workers,” and that being AI-first wasn’t about “changing” staff with AI however about permitting present workers to give attention to artistic work and problem-solving over repetitive duties. The corporate mentioned that it will help employees with full-time employees coaching, mentorship, and AI instruments.
Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn. Photograph by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Photos
Ahn additionally defined why Duolingo was selecting to go all-in on AI now. He acknowledged within the electronic mail that Duolingo guess massive on cell in 2012, specializing in making a mobile-first app at a time when cell apps had been primarily companions for full-fledged web sites. The transfer labored out effectively: Duolingo’s app gained the 2013 iPhone App of the Year with 10 million downloads and grew organically after that. Now, Duolingo has over 500 million registered customers.
“This time the platform shift is AI,” he wrote within the electronic mail.
Duolingo is specializing in AI through the use of it to create content material and energy options like Video Call, which Duolingo launched in September. Video Name permits learners to follow talking of their goal language via a video chat with an AI character named Lily.
Duolingo is not the primary firm to just lately announce an AI-first technique. Earlier this month, Shopify CEO Tobias Lutke instructed all workers in a memo that “utilizing AI successfully is now a elementary expectation of everybody at Shopify.” Lutke instructed Shopify employees that they need to maximize what they might do with AI earlier than asking for extra sources or further human workers.
He additionally mentioned that Shopify would add AI use inquiries to its efficiency and peer critiques.
Duolingo had a market capitalization of over $17 billion on the time of writing.
