Duolingo is adopting an “AI-first” strategy to its enterprise, and the language studying platform will cut back its reliance on human contract employees 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 carried out,” Ahn wrote in an e mail publicly shared by way of Duolingo’s LinkedIn account. “When there is a shift this huge, 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 may even reward AI use in hiring new staff and in efficiency evaluations of present staff. Groups will moreover solely be permitted to rent new members if the group can’t automate the work.
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Duolingo has eradicated contract employees 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.
Nonetheless, Ahn reassured workers within the e mail that “Duolingo will stay an organization that cares deeply about its staff,” and that being AI-first wasn’t about “changing” employees with AI however about permitting present staff to concentrate on inventive work and problem-solving over repetitive duties. The corporate mentioned that it could assist workers with full-time workers coaching, mentorship, and AI instruments.
Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn. Picture by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Pictures
Ahn additionally defined why Duolingo was selecting to go all-in on AI now. He said within the e mail that Duolingo wager huge 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 nicely: Duolingo’s app received 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 e mail.
Duolingo is specializing in AI by utilizing it to create content material and energy options like Video Call, which Duolingo launched in September. Video Name permits learners to observe talking of their goal language by way of 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 informed all staff in a memo that “utilizing AI successfully is now a basic expectation of everybody at Shopify.” Lutke informed Shopify workers that they need to maximize what they might do with AI earlier than asking for extra assets or further human staff.
He additionally mentioned that Shopify would add AI use inquiries to its efficiency and peer evaluations.
Duolingo had a market capitalization of over $17 billion on the time of writing.
