Duolingo Faces Backlash Over AI-First Strategy and Employee Concerns

Duolingo, the popular language-learning app, faced significant backlash after CEO Luis von Ahn announced an "AI-first" corporate policy on LinkedIn. The post outlined plans to reduce reliance on human contractors, prioritize AI in hiring and performance reviews, and fundamentally change most roles at the company. The announcement sparked outrage, with critics accusing Duolingo of being "anti-worker" and "anti-human."

The Backlash

The LinkedIn post garnered over 1,000 angry comments, including threats to cancel subscriptions and delete the app. Users criticized the company for prioritizing AI over human employees, with comments like "AI-first means real people come last!" and "These aren’t just disgusting anti-worker practices, this is blatantly anti human."

Damage Control

Duolingo attempted to mitigate the fallout with a series of unconventional social media videos. In one, the company's social media team "took over" the accounts, posting a video featuring a masked figure in a mutated three-eyed Duolingo owl mask. The video criticized the AI-first announcement and demanded accountability from von Ahn. Another video showed the CEO being "interrogated" by the masked figure, where von Ahn admitted, "I think I messed up sending that email."

CEO's Defense

Von Ahn defended the AI-first strategy, arguing that AI would enhance productivity and allow Duolingo to create more language courses. He noted that the company had released 100 new courses in under a year with AI assistance, compared to 10 years for the first 100 courses. However, he acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding AI's impact, stating, "Honestly, I don’t really know what’s going to happen."

Aftermath

Despite the backlash, Duolingo's stock price remained unaffected. The company continued to post on social media, though engagement metrics dipped. Von Ahn later returned to LinkedIn with a more measured tone, emphasizing workshops and AI advisory councils to help employees adapt. He framed AI as a tool to accelerate Duolingo's mission of making education universally available.

Lessons Learned

The episode highlights the challenges of announcing major AI integrations without addressing employee and public concerns. As Fortune noted, "AI-first tends to be a concept with much more appeal to investors and managers than most regular people." Comedian Josh Johnson summed it up: "You could have said customer-first. You could have said teacher-first. And you could have not said anything."

Watch the CEO's "hostage" video