Duolingo is making a big change in how it works the language learning app. The company has informed that it will slowly stop using contract workers for work that can now be completed by artificial intelligence (AI). As part of their platform shift to AI, this is a step toward becoming an AI-first company, CEO Luis von Ahn tells Tech Insider.
Von Ahn isn’t looking to replace the employees completely, just to get them focused on tasks that require creativity and true problem solving. The repetitive and routine work shall be taken care of by AI, and deployment will be such that the team can focus on higher-level goals.
Why AI? Why Now?
Von Ahn claims that the reason Duolingo needs to develop educational content quickly. According to him, it is too slow to digitize content manually to capture global demand. The company can use AI to quickly create lessons, quizzes, and materials in new languages, and for more learners worldwide.
AI has already helped the company grow, and it will only aid in increasing productivity and enhancing the learning experience, according to him. ‘Saving time isn’t the only thing that AI is about,’ he said. “Seeing this helps us build to our mission better, better teach more people, more effectively.”
What Happens to Contract Workers?
Slowly, Duolingo intends to wean itself of contract workers. That is the people, who are hired to do a content creation for create contents and the others works like basic support, administration works. These can become jobs of AI, as AI will not need human input for these.
The decision affects contractors first. Changes will also happen for full-time employees, von Ahn has said, and they will be supported. Training and mentorship will be provided to the workers about how to use AI tools. If teams cannot automate their work — if they are not mature — they will only be able to grow in size.
While the company represents this as another representational shift, critics fear that it will be the beginning of many job losses in the future.
Using AI Beyond Content Creation
However, Duolingo’s move is not limited to lesson creation. Hiring and performance reviews will also be another function, the company plans to use AI for. The application of AI to these areas allows Duolingo to make decisions faster and based on more data. This will remove ‘bottlenecks,’ said von Ahn, and let teams run more smoothly.
It is in line with what other tech firms are doing. For example, Shopify’s CEO recently said that no new hires could be approved unless the work could be done by AI.
Reactions to the Announcement
The reactions to the announcement vary. A number of tech experts laud Duolingo for adopting AI in a smart way. According to them, it demonstrates that it is possible to get better results by being more efficient and still being respectful of the teams.
Others are concerned. Opponents cite that too much automation leads to a cold work environment, fewer available job positions, and dependence on technological tools that may not be just or quite accurate, particularly in the area of human resources in hiring and performance appraisal.
Conclusion
As Duolingo begins a new chapter, relying more heavily on AI and less on contract workers, the organization will spend millions to secure its trust. By loyalty to the decision, the company promises to provide support for the employees during the change, but it raises some questions about the future of work, automation, and the role that humans have in education. Such is the speed at which the workplace is changing as AI becomes a bigger part of business, and companies such as Duolingo are in the midst of demonstrating that point.
