Duolingo CEO Addresses Misunderstandings Over Controversial AI Memo

This year, Duolingo’s CEO Luis von Ahn faced significant backlash for his comments regarding the company’s shift towards being an “AI-first company.” He later clarified in an interview that the misunderstanding was due to a lack of context.

“Internally, this was never a divisive issue,” von Ahn explained to The New York Times. “However, as a publicly traded entity, outsiders might incorrectly believe our motives are solely for profit or that we intend to reduce our human workforce. That was never our intention.”

In fact, von Ahn highlighted that the company has “never laid off any full-time employees” and has no future plans to do so. He acknowledged a reduction in contractor positions but pointed out that this has always been project-dependent.

Despite the criticism—which seems to have had little impact on Duolingo’s financial health—von Ahn remains hopeful about the potential of AI, with Duolingo staff dedicating every Friday morning to exploring the technology.

“It’s a terrible acronym, f-r-A-I-days,” he joked. “I’m not quite sure how to pronounce it.”