Duolingo's AI Shift Backfires: Public Outrage and Deleted Posts

Duolingo's AI-First Shift Sparks Backlash: A PR Crisis Unfolds Duolingo, a popular language-learning app, recently announced a major shift to become an "AI-first" company. This decision, communicated in a company-wide email by co-founder and CEO Luis von Ahn, immediately sparked a significant backlash from both employees and the public. The company's social media accounts initially deleted all previous posts, only to upload a cryptic video featuring their mascot. Von Ahn's email outlined plans to replace contract workers with AI tools, a move met with widespread disapproval. One social media user commented, "I'm so disappointed in Duolingo, don't replace people's jobs with AI." This sentiment was echoed across numerous platforms, highlighting the ethical concerns surrounding the use of AI to replace human workers. The intensity of the negative response forced Duolingo into damage control, as evidenced by the removal of their initial posts and the subsequent upload of the mysterious video. This incident underscores the challenges faced by companies transitioning to AI-driven models and the importance of considering the human impact of such decisions. The future of Duolingo's relationship with its users and employees remains uncertain, pending a more transparent and sensitive approach to future technological changes.