Duolingo, How Did That AI Go? Oh, a Big Fiasco
May 5, 2026
Remember when Duolingo fired humanoid employees to go totally AI? Those unfired had to demonstrate their loyalty to smart software by using AI as often as possible.Techspot says, “Duolingo Stops Evaluating Works Based On How AI They Use.”
After laying 10% of its contract workers in 2025, Duolingo decided to evaluate its employees based on how much AI they used. Duolingo users were upset about the changes to the company and many deleted the app. CEO Luis von Ahn was oblivious to the public’s response and didn’t expect them to react accordingly. (A tech bro misjudging his customers’ reactions? Say it isn’t not, Mr. Tech Bro.)
When it comes to rewinding, von Ahn said:
“’At the end, we backtracked, and we said, ‘No. Look, the most important thing in your performance is that you are doing whatever your job is as well as possible. A lot of times AI can help you with that. But if it can’t, I’m not going to force you to do that,'” von Ahn said. ‘It felt like rather than being held accountable for the actual outcome, we’re trying to just push something that in some cases did not fit.’”
Duolingo is a good example of a company admitting its error and moving forward to re-earn its users’ trust. Language learners seem to value a human touch in the process. AI is a utility, not the solution to every problem. (Is it possible that AI could be a solution to the big AI tech (BAIT) problem? Let’s give that a try. Sergey, Peter, Sam, and the whole gang, let’s allow Chinese AI to run your companies.
Whitney Grace, May 5, 2026
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