Duolingo has announced its commitment to becoming an “AI-first” company, leading to a progressive reduction in the use of contractors for tasks that artificial intelligence can perform. This shift was detailed in an all-staff email from co-founder and CEO Luis von Ahn, which has been shared on Duolingo’s LinkedIn account.
In his message, von Ahn emphasized that the AI-first approach necessitates a reevaluation of the company’s operational strategies, indicating that mere adjustments to existing human-centric systems will be insufficient. Key elements of this transition will include tightening the collaboration with contractors, integrating AI into hiring processes and performance assessments, and limiting headcount increases to only those areas where automation cannot be implemented.
The CEO reassured employees that Duolingo continues to prioritize its workforce, clarifying that the goal is not to replace human jobs with AI technologies. Instead, the intent is to eliminate inefficiencies, allowing staff to dedicate more time to innovative and significant challenges rather than routine tasks.
“AI isn’t merely about enhancing productivity,” von Ahn noted. He highlighted its significance in achieving the company’s mission, particularly regarding the extensive content needed for effective teaching. He stated that the manual creation of content is not scalable, and transitioning to AI-driven processes has significantly accelerated their content generation capabilities, enabling them to reach more learners efficiently.
This announcement aligns with a directive from Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, who recently requested that teams justify additional hiring requests by demonstrating why tasks cannot be automated through AI.
Below is an excerpt from von Ahn’s memo shared via Duolingo’s LinkedIn:
I’ve mentioned this in Q&As and several meetings, but I want to make it official: Duolingo is going to be AI-first.
The impact of AI on work processes is already becoming evident. This transformation is not a matter of if or when; it is happening now. In light of such a significant shift, the worst course of action is to hesitate. Back in 2012, we took a bold step toward mobile when others were still focused on supplementary mobile applications. Our decision to prioritize a mobile-first approach positioned us for extensive growth, culminating in receiving the 2013 iPhone App of the Year award.
Investing in mobile was crucial. Now, we find ourselves at a similar juncture with AI.
AI is more than just a productivity enhancement. It supports our mission of education through the need to efficiently produce vast amounts of content. Our recent decision to replace a slow, manual content creation process with AI was one of our best yet. Without the adoption of AI, scaling our content delivery could take decades. We must provide this educational material to our learners as quickly as possible.
AI also enables us to launch features, such as Video Call, that were previously unattainable. For the first time, we can match the teaching effectiveness of the best human tutors.
Our transition to an AI-first model necessitates a fundamental rethinking of our workflows. Simple modifications to human-centric systems are insufficient. Many processes will require a complete overhaul. While this undertaking won’t happen overnight and some elements, such as getting AI to understand our existing infrastructure, will take time, we cannot afford to delay until the technology reaches perfection. Our preference is to act decisively, accepting occasional minor quality compromises, rather than moving slowly and risking missed opportunities.
We are planning to introduce several constructive measures to facilitate this shift:
We will gradually stop engaging contractors for tasks suited for AI.
Integration of AI will be a factor in our hiring criteria.
AI’s influence will be part of our evaluation in performance reviews.
New headcount will only be approved if automation is not feasible for a team.
New initiatives will emerge in most functions to radically change the way we operate.
With all this in mind, Duolingo remains deeply committed to its employees. This transition does not aim to replace human roles with AI; rather, it seeks to eliminate obstacles so we can maximize the potential of our current team. We want our employees to concentrate on innovative work and substantial challenges, rather than getting bogged down in repetitive tasks. We commit to providing more training, mentorship, and AI tools for your roles.
Though change can be daunting, I am confident that this step will greatly benefit Duolingo. It will enhance our ability to fulfill our mission — and for our staff, it signifies leading the way in employing this technology to boost productivity.
–Luis
