Duolingo said it just doubled its language courses thanks to AI
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Summary
Language learning platform Duolingo has announced it is releasing 148 new language courses to make its seven most popular non-English languages available in all 28 languages it currently supports.
The company, which recently announced its intention to become ‘AI-first’, stated the launches were made possible by using generative AI, which allowed employees to base a course on one language and then customise it for use in dozens of others.
In a memo to staff, Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn said the company would gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI could perform, and that AI would be evaluated during the hiring process and in performance reviews.
The company stated that headcount would only be authorised for teams that couldn’t automate more of their work through AI.
However, the firm has attempted to assuage staff fears over the increased use of AI, insisting there was “no intention to reduce full-time headcount or hiring”, and that any changes to contractor staffing would be considered on a case-by-case basis.