7 posts tagged “duolingo”
2025
Luis von Ahn on LinkedIn (via) Last month's Duolingo memo about becoming an "AI-first" company has seen significant backlash, particularly on TikTok. I've had trouble figuring out how much of this is a real threat to their business as opposed to protests from a loud minority, but it's clearly serious enough for Luis von Ahn to post another memo on LinkedIn:
One of the most important things leaders can do is provide clarity. When I released my AI memo a few weeks ago, I didn’t do that well. [...]
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. [...]
This really isn't saying very much to be honest.
As a consumer-focused company with a passionate user-base I think Duolingo may turn into a useful canary for figuring out quite how damaging AI-backlash can be.
Betting on mobile made all the difference. We're making a similar call now, and this time the platform shift is AI.
AI isn't just a productivity boost. It helps us get closer to our mission. To teach well, we need to create a massive amount of content, and doing that manually doesn't scale. One of the best decisions we made recently was replacing a slow, manual content creation process with one powered by AI. Without AI, it would take us decades to scale our content to more learners. We owe it to our learners to get them this content ASAP. [...]
We'll be rolling out a few constructive constraints to help guide this shift:
- We'll gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle
- AI use will be part of what we look for in hiring
- AI use will be part of what we evaluate in performance reviews
- Headcount will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work
- Most functions will have specific initiatives to fundamentally change how they work [...]
— Luis von Ahn, Duolingo all-hands memo, shared on LinkedIn
2024
Tom Scott, and the formidable power of escalating streaks
Ten years ago yesterday, Tom Scott posted this video to YouTube about “Special Crossings For Horses In Britain”. It was the first in his Things You Might Not Know series, but more importantly it was the start of a streak.
[... 1,352 words]2019
Weeknotes: Niche Museums, Kepler, Trees and Streaks
Every now and then someone will ask “so when are you going to build Museums Near Me then?”, based on my obsession with niche museums and websites like www.owlsnearme.com.
[... 872 words]2013
Is there an application like Duolingo, but for math?
Khan Academy have a points, levels and achievements system for mathematics that is similar to the method used by duolingo.
[... 35 words]What are some productive things to do for 15 minutes a day?
Learn a foreign language—using DuoLingo on the iPhone, or with podcasts such as Coffee Break Spanish.
[... 36 words]Are there any sites like CodeAcademy for other fields, i.e. who specialize in math, languages, finance, etc. (no “generalists” like Khan)?
For language learning my wife has been having a really good time with Duolingo—she uses the iPhone app but they have a web version as well. It’s also free—I think their business model revolves around getting students to crowdsource translations as part of their learning exercises.
[... 130 words]