Duolingo reveals it's replacing workers with AI in controversial email

Duolingo has sparked quite the backlash online after the company's CEO revealed that it will be replacing workers with artificial intelligence (AI) in a very controversial email.

The mobile language-learning platform, famous for its green owl mascot aptly named 'Duo', launched back in 2012. It's since become many people's go-to when it comes to learning a new language, with many encouraged to log on everyday to keep up their streak.

However, over a decade since its launch, the app is making a pretty major change, with the company announcing the news via email and LinkedIn with a statement from CEO, Luis von Ahn, announcing that Duolingo are now making the transition to be 'AI-first'.

Before getting into the details of the email, LinkedIn introduced the announcement with: "Just like how betting on mobile in 2012 made all the difference, we’re making a similar call now. This time the platform shift is AI.

Duolingo announced it will be replacing its workers with AI in a controversial statement (Getty Stock Images)

"What doesn't change: We will remain a company that cares deeply about its employees."

In the official statement, Luis writes: "I've said this in Q&As and many meetings, but I want to make it official: Duolingo is going to be Al-first.

"Al 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.

The company maintained that it 'cares deeply about its employees' (SOPA Images / Contributor / Getty Images)

"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 Al."

Outlining that 'Al isn't just a productivity boost', Luis assured that it will help the company 'get closer to our mission'.

"To teach well, we need to create a massive amount of content, and doing that manually doesn't scale," he continued. "One of the best decisions we made recently was replacing a slow, manual content creation process with one powered by Al.

"Without Al, it would take us decades to scale our content to more learners. We owe it to our learners to get them this content ASAP."

Luis also explained that using Al also helps the company to 'build features' like Video Call that were 'impossible' to build before.

Many companies are now integrating AI into their systems (Andriy Onufriyenko / Getty Images)

"For the first time ever, teaching as well as the best human tutors is within our reach," he went on, before assuring: "Being Al-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."

He also admitted that, 'in many cases', the company will need to 'start from scratch'.

"We're not going to rebuild everything overnight, and some things like getting Al to understand our codebase will take time," he outlined. "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."

Luis then mapped out several 'constructive constraints' that Duolingo will be 'rolling out' to help guide such a shift, which include gradually stopping the use of contractors 'to do work that Al can handle'.

"Al use will be part of what we look for in hiring," he went on. "Al use will be part of what we evaluate in performance reviews."

However, with all that said, the CEO rounded off the length statement claiming that Duolingo will 'remain a company that cares deeply about its employees'.

"This isn't about replacing Duos with Al," he stated. "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 Al in your function."

Luis concluded the post: "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."

This has sparked mixed reactions, with some praising this bold move.

"The deeper opportunity here feels clear", one commenter said. "It is not just about scaling subjects or delivering content faster. It is about teaching machines how humans struggle, adapt, and reframe decisions under uncertainty.

"By embedding this inside familiar and playful learning environments like language, music and chess, Duolingo is helping AI understand the real texture of human learning.

"It feels like the beginning of a new generation of emotionally intelligent technology and I'm excited to see how this evolves."

"Every company needs to be AI-first", wrote another LinkedIn user. "What gets overlooked is that being AI-first isn't the same as being an AI company. AI can improve the productivity of any team, and that's different from replacing teams with AI."

However, not everyone was pleased, as others expressed their frustration with the increasing use of AI in companies.

One commenter wrote: "Cool story, you've lost a user."

Another replied to the post: "When my paid family subscription is up, I'll be doing some serious thinking on whether or not to continue. I don't think this is a good move."

A third claimed that they 'deleted the application after seeing this post online', adding: "Removing the human element from the workplace is the the polar opposite of showing that you care deeply for your employees. Utilizing AI to allow them to do their best work while not stressed is one thing but being AI First means putting humans behind machines."

LADbible Media Group has reached out to Duolingo for comment.