Duolingo Faces Massive Social Media Backlash After 'AI-First' Comments (fastcompany.com) 35
"Duolingo had been riding high," reports Fast Company, until CEO Luis von Ahn "announced on LinkedIn that the company is phasing out human contractors, looking for AI use in hiring and in performance reviews, and that 'headcount will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work.'"
But then "facing heavy backlash online after unveiling its new AI-first policy", Duolingo's social media presence went dark last weekend. Duolingo even temporarily took down all its posts on TikTok (6.7 million followers) and Instagram (4.1 million followers) "after both accounts were flooded with negative feedback." Duolingo previously faced criticism for quietly laying off 10% of its contractor base and introducing some AI features in late 2023, but it barely went beyond a semi-viral post on Reddit. Now that Duolingo is cutting out all its human contractors whose work can technically be done by AI, and relying on more AI-generated language lessons, the response is far more pronounced. Although earlier TikTok videos are not currently visible, a Fast Company article from May 12 captured a flavor of the reaction:
The top comments on virtually every recent post have nothing to do with the video or the company — and everything to do with the company's embrace of AI. For example, a Duolingo TikTok video jumping on board the "Mama, may I have a cookie" trend saw replies like "Mama, may I have real people running the company" (with 69,000 likes) and "How about NO ai, keep your employees...."
And then... After days of silence, on Tuesday the company posted a bizarre video message on TikTok and Instagram, the meaning of which is hard to decipher... Duolingo's first video drop in days has the degraded, stuttering feel of a Max Headroom video made by the hackers at Anonymous. In it, a supposed member of the company's social team appears in a three-eyed Duo mask and black hoodie to complain about the corporate overlords ruining the empire the heroic social media crew built.
"But this is something Duolingo can't cute-post its way out of," Fast Company wrote on Tuesday, complaining the company "has not yet meaningfully addressed the policies that inspired the backlash against it... "
So the next video (Thursday) featured Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn himself, being confronted by that same hoodie-wearing social media rebel, who says "I'm making the man who caused this mess accountable for his behavior. I'm demanding answers from the CEO..." [Though the video carefully sidesteps the issue of replacing contractors with AI or how "headcount will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work."] Rebel: First question. So are there going to be any humans left at this company?
CEO: Our employees are what make Duolingo so amazing. Our app is so great because our employees made it... So we're going to continue having employees, and not only that, we're actually going to be hiring more employees.
Rebel: How do we know that these aren't just empty promises? As long as you're in charge, we could still be shuffled out once the media fire dies down. And we all know that in terms of automation, CEOs should be the first to go.
CEO: AI is a fundamental shift. It's going to change how we all do work — including me. And honestly, I don't really know what's going to happen.
But I want us, as a company, to have our workforce prepared by really knowing how to use AI so that we can be more efficient with it.
Rebel: Learning a foreign language is literally about human connection. How is that even possible with AI-first?
CEO: Yes, language is about human connection, and it's about people. And this is the thing about AI. AI will allow us to reach more people, and to teach more people. I mean for example, it took us about 10 years to develop the first 100 courses on Duolingo, and now in under a year, with the help of AI and of course with humans reviewing all the work, we were able to release another 100 courses in less than a year.
Rebel: So do you regret posting this memo on LinkedIn.
CEO: Honestly, I think I messed up sending that email. What we're trying to do is empower our own employees to be able to achieve more and be able to have way more content to teach better and reach more people all with the help of AI.
Returning to where it all started, Duolingo's CEO posted again on LinkedIn Thursday with "more context" for his vision. It still emphasizes the company's employees while sidestepping contractors replaced by AI. But it puts a positive spin on how "headcount will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work." I've always encouraged our team to embrace new technology (that's why we originally built for mobile instead of desktop), and we are taking that same approach with AI. By understanding the capabilities and limitations of AI now, we can stay ahead of it and remain in control of our own product and our mission.
To be clear: I do not see AI as replacing what our employees do (we are in fact continuing to hire at the same speed as before). I see it as a tool to accelerate what we do, at the same or better level of quality. And the sooner we learn how to use it, and use it responsibly, the better off we will be in the long run. My goal is for Duos to feel empowered and prepared to use this technology.
No one is expected to navigate this shift alone. We're developing workshops and advisory councils, and carving out dedicated experimentation time to help all our teams learn and adapt. People work at Duolingo because they want to solve big problems to improve education, and the people who work here are what make Duolingo successful. Our mission isn't changing, but the tools we use to build new things will change. I remain committed to leading Duolingo in a way that is consistent with our mission to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available.
"The backlash to Duolingo is the latest evidence that 'AI-first' tends to be a concept with much more appeal to investors and managers than most regular people," notes Fortune: And it's not hard to see why. Generative AI is often trained on reams of content that may have been illegally accessed; much of its output is bizarre or incorrect; and some leaders in the field are opposed to regulations on the technology. But outside particular niches in entry-level white-collar work, AI's productivity gains have yet to materialize.
But then "facing heavy backlash online after unveiling its new AI-first policy", Duolingo's social media presence went dark last weekend. Duolingo even temporarily took down all its posts on TikTok (6.7 million followers) and Instagram (4.1 million followers) "after both accounts were flooded with negative feedback." Duolingo previously faced criticism for quietly laying off 10% of its contractor base and introducing some AI features in late 2023, but it barely went beyond a semi-viral post on Reddit. Now that Duolingo is cutting out all its human contractors whose work can technically be done by AI, and relying on more AI-generated language lessons, the response is far more pronounced. Although earlier TikTok videos are not currently visible, a Fast Company article from May 12 captured a flavor of the reaction:
The top comments on virtually every recent post have nothing to do with the video or the company — and everything to do with the company's embrace of AI. For example, a Duolingo TikTok video jumping on board the "Mama, may I have a cookie" trend saw replies like "Mama, may I have real people running the company" (with 69,000 likes) and "How about NO ai, keep your employees...."
And then... After days of silence, on Tuesday the company posted a bizarre video message on TikTok and Instagram, the meaning of which is hard to decipher... Duolingo's first video drop in days has the degraded, stuttering feel of a Max Headroom video made by the hackers at Anonymous. In it, a supposed member of the company's social team appears in a three-eyed Duo mask and black hoodie to complain about the corporate overlords ruining the empire the heroic social media crew built.
"But this is something Duolingo can't cute-post its way out of," Fast Company wrote on Tuesday, complaining the company "has not yet meaningfully addressed the policies that inspired the backlash against it... "
So the next video (Thursday) featured Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn himself, being confronted by that same hoodie-wearing social media rebel, who says "I'm making the man who caused this mess accountable for his behavior. I'm demanding answers from the CEO..." [Though the video carefully sidesteps the issue of replacing contractors with AI or how "headcount will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work."] Rebel: First question. So are there going to be any humans left at this company?
CEO: Our employees are what make Duolingo so amazing. Our app is so great because our employees made it... So we're going to continue having employees, and not only that, we're actually going to be hiring more employees.
Rebel: How do we know that these aren't just empty promises? As long as you're in charge, we could still be shuffled out once the media fire dies down. And we all know that in terms of automation, CEOs should be the first to go.
CEO: AI is a fundamental shift. It's going to change how we all do work — including me. And honestly, I don't really know what's going to happen.
But I want us, as a company, to have our workforce prepared by really knowing how to use AI so that we can be more efficient with it.
Rebel: Learning a foreign language is literally about human connection. How is that even possible with AI-first?
CEO: Yes, language is about human connection, and it's about people. And this is the thing about AI. AI will allow us to reach more people, and to teach more people. I mean for example, it took us about 10 years to develop the first 100 courses on Duolingo, and now in under a year, with the help of AI and of course with humans reviewing all the work, we were able to release another 100 courses in less than a year.
Rebel: So do you regret posting this memo on LinkedIn.
CEO: Honestly, I think I messed up sending that email. What we're trying to do is empower our own employees to be able to achieve more and be able to have way more content to teach better and reach more people all with the help of AI.
Returning to where it all started, Duolingo's CEO posted again on LinkedIn Thursday with "more context" for his vision. It still emphasizes the company's employees while sidestepping contractors replaced by AI. But it puts a positive spin on how "headcount will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work." I've always encouraged our team to embrace new technology (that's why we originally built for mobile instead of desktop), and we are taking that same approach with AI. By understanding the capabilities and limitations of AI now, we can stay ahead of it and remain in control of our own product and our mission.
To be clear: I do not see AI as replacing what our employees do (we are in fact continuing to hire at the same speed as before). I see it as a tool to accelerate what we do, at the same or better level of quality. And the sooner we learn how to use it, and use it responsibly, the better off we will be in the long run. My goal is for Duos to feel empowered and prepared to use this technology.
No one is expected to navigate this shift alone. We're developing workshops and advisory councils, and carving out dedicated experimentation time to help all our teams learn and adapt. People work at Duolingo because they want to solve big problems to improve education, and the people who work here are what make Duolingo successful. Our mission isn't changing, but the tools we use to build new things will change. I remain committed to leading Duolingo in a way that is consistent with our mission to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available.
"The backlash to Duolingo is the latest evidence that 'AI-first' tends to be a concept with much more appeal to investors and managers than most regular people," notes Fortune: And it's not hard to see why. Generative AI is often trained on reams of content that may have been illegally accessed; much of its output is bizarre or incorrect; and some leaders in the field are opposed to regulations on the technology. But outside particular niches in entry-level white-collar work, AI's productivity gains have yet to materialize.
Social Media and backlash are synonyms (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Social Media and backlash are synonyms (Score:4, Insightful)
we take stock in it because communication and criticism are key
most of this is classism and corruption fueled by greed and we the people have every right to be unhappy with it
when the upper class controls our media is it any wonder people resort to social media in order to speak up?
Re: (Score:2)
I don't think the haters are at the wheel -- they're too busy screaming to effect change.
Instead, the fact that you can find people making just about any comment on any subject gives lazy and biased journalists an unending stream of reasons to report whatever they want to report. Want to report on celebrity rumors? Some rando will post something crazy and eyeball-grabbing. Want to report on whatever stupid thing a politician said? Between partisanship and the Internet's Internet game of telephone, there
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When every business has eliminated most of its employees, and as a result most of the population is unemployed, who will buy your products?
Of course, we already know the answer to t
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Of course, we already know the answer to that question: I don't give a fuck what happens to anyone else after I am dead. As long as I am rich today, that's all that matters.
Of course, when the starving masses have nothing else to eat, why not a slice of History?
The Rich that fail to learn, will be tasty with with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.
Re: (Score:2)
Question: Why should anyone use Duolingo at this point, when you can just ask AI Claude or I ChatGPT to teach you to speak any language? Just what is Duolingo's value proposition with offering a second rate AI?
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Social media is where people in 2025 congregate to talk about things. We take stock in it because of its status as the modern day Town Hall or Village Square. Yes, backlashes appear on social media, so do every other form of discussion about a topic of the day.
The only way your comment makes sense is either if you're a time traveler from the 1970s who thinks the world mostly works the same way as it did then and social media is some nerd thing, or if you're trying to dismiss criticism that doesn't come from
paid ai slop (Score:4, Interesting)
so I don't get what Duolingos value proposition is. assuming I'm willing to pay for ai slop, chatgpt at 20/mo is a better value that Duolingo's language-specific ai slop at 13/mo. at least I can use chatgpt for other things... such as asking it to generate a ghibli version of the Duolingo mascot, I guess.
or vibe code my own Duolingo too. because in the end it'll be ai slop all the way down. might as well make it ai slop tailored to me.
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so I don't get what Duolingos value proposition is. assuming I'm willing to pay for ai slop, chatgpt at 20/mo is a better value that Duolingo's language-specific ai slop at 13/mo. at least I can use chatgpt for other things... such as asking it to generate a ghibli version of the Duolingo mascot, I guess.
or vibe code my own Duolingo too. because in the end it'll be ai slop all the way down. might as well make it ai slop tailored to me.
The thing is, there are plenty of better, free resources for learning a language these days and if you're going to shell out money then there's a shitload of better paid options. It just requires a bit of research. If you're gong to shell out US$20 a month you can probably get an online, if not face to face class for that with a real teacher. You're almost at what it would cost for 2 online one-to-one sessions per week depending on what language you want to learn.
Back when I was learning Spanish I tried
Perhaps ... (Score:2)
Perhaps the ownership changed, from humans to AI long ago? /P.S. probably time to delete my Duolingo account
And now the AI wants all the money for themselves?
Dear AI... (Score:2)
The app is dumb anyway (Score:2)
tl;dr (Score:4, Funny)
Nice 'summary', Slashdot.
Re: (Score:3)
> Nice 'summary', Slashdot.
So you're saying they could be replaced by AI? ;)
Too bad they didn't link to LibreLingo [librelingo.app] for context.
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ChatGPT summary:
Duolingo, once widely praised, is now under fire after CEO Luis von Ahn announced a shift toward an "AI-first" strategy. This includes phasing out human contractors, using AI in hiring and performance reviews, and restricting new hires unless automation isn't feasible. The announcement sparked a strong negative response online, especially on TikTok and Instagram, prompting the company to temporarily remove all social media posts.
The backlash is more intense than prior criticism over layoffs
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What's funny about that comment? But the story was a good target for humor. Too bad Slashdot broke its funny bone.
Me? I can't do funny. I already lost all the jokes that came to mind as I looked the "discussion" over. Make as much sense if it was all written by AI.
Complete the circle (Score:5, Interesting)
I use AI all the time, but I somehow find it deeply offensive when someone expects me to read AI slop.
Consider this example:
Applicant to AI: "Write a two-page job application e-mail to company Foo. I know some JS and React."
Applicant sends two pages of AI slop to Foo. HR person receives it.
HR person to AI: "Summarize this job application in one sentence"
AI: "Applicant knows some JS and React and is excited to work at Foo."
HR person updates their prompt so the AI ignores the "excited to work" part in the future.
In short, why would I spend more time reading something than someone else spent writing it?
Now you could say "if the content is just as good, why does it matter?". Well...
- We're not there yet
- Usually no human even checks if the content is any good / actually correct
- I'm not paying monthly for an AI wrapper instead of a general AI subscription because then I'm just paying for someone's idea of how to write prompts
Another thing - if you can replace $10M/year worth of employees with a $10k/year AI service, your company didn't "save" almost $10M. That's not $10M that you get to keep every year from now on. It means that you're playing a different game now, where the cost to entry is significantly lower.
DuoLingo's Hungarian Phrase Book (Score:2)
We've seen what can happen when translation programs "hallucinate": https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
This is the way (Score:1)
Senseless backlash (Score:1)
This CEO is correct, his company needs to embrace AI and his people need to get onboard with it. Or leave, their choice. I can totally understand why some people will feel offended and threatened when AI starts doing a significant fraction of human work but that cat is out of the bag.
It is rapidly reaching the point where you better have AI competence and no qualms about using it or your employment options will be very limited. Complaining about it will not help.
Re:Senseless backlash (Score:4, Insightful)
People are fed up of slop and hallucinations from software incapable of acting the way its boosters claim it should, and are concerned about the job losses and ultimate disappearance of companies that had services they liked due to crappy CEOs making dumb solutions like "Let's rely on this hyped technology despite pretty much every expert in the field saying it's incapable of doing what we're claiming", and you characterize that as "some people will feel offended and threatened when AI starts doing a significant fraction of human work".
If and when a reliable AI thing comes out, we can have that discussion on the terms you describe. But DuoLingo circling the drain because it's done an all-in bet on Team Stupid and pretty much immediately seen a massive drop in quality, is not that time.
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>> every expert in the field saying it's incapable of doing what we're claiming
Utter bullshit. We aren't talking about "slop and hallucinations" here, the kind of AI that generates images for you or makes up stories. We're talking about AI coding assistants. Over the past 6-8 months they have become amazingly effective. Software developers are now using it daily and the productivity gains are very significant. If you haven't worked with it you have no idea as to what it can do. Sit a manager next to m
Can these "summaries" get any longer? (Score:3)
That was 3 pages of scrolling, /. Make 'em shorter, please.
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Centurii-chan cover this (Score:2)
All great but what is DuoLingo? (Score:2)
"The angry parrots are hitting" (Score:1)
Why should they care (Score:2)
Social media is irrelevant. The download numbers count. And now more people are talking about Duolingo than before.