Duolingo contract workers to be replaced with AI to scale service globally

For many people, the fear of being replaced by AI is becoming all too real. Whether we like it or not, the shift is happening, and it’s happening quick. Duolingo is the latest to join the AI bandwagon, announcing plans to gradually phase out contract workers in favor of artificial intelligence tools. 

“To teach well, we need to create a massive amount of content, and doing that manually doesn’t scale,” von Ahn wrote in his message to employees, as highlighted by The Verge. “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.”

The company plans to implement several “constructive constraints” including the gradual elimination of contractors for AI-manageable tasks and making AI proficiency a factor in hiring and performance reviews. von Ahn also noted that teams would need to demonstrate they cannot automate more of their work before receiving additional headcount.

von Ahn emphasized this isn’t about replacing full-time employees (affectionately called “Duos” internally) but rather “removing bottlenecks” to allow staff to “focus on creative work and real problems, not repetitive tasks.”

This decision, while debatable, isn’t surprising. Several other companies have also begun going down the same path. IBM made similar headlines in March when it announced cutting nearly 9,000 U.S. jobs in 2025, continuing its plan to replace approximately 7,800 back-office positions with AI over five years.

Similarly, telecommunications giant BT announced in 2023 that it’ll cut 55,000 jobs by 2030, with about 10,000 roles expected to be replaced by AI. Their focus areas include customer service and network management, similar to Duolingo’s content creation automation.

I also found a report based on a ResumeTemplates.com survey which reported that 30% of companies replaced workers with AI in 2024, with 38% planning similar actions in 2025. So I find it fascinating how quickly this shift is happening. Just a few years ago, AI integration was theoretical for most businesses. Now companies are restructuring their entire operations around it.

Coming back to Duolingo, von Ahn compared the current AI revolution to Duolingo’s early bet on mobile technology: “In 2012, we bet on mobile. While others were focused on mobile companion apps for websites, we decided to build mobile-first because we saw it was the future. That decision helped us win the 2013 iPhone App of the Year. We’re making a similar call now.”

The Duolingo announcement follows a similar memo from Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke requiring teams to demonstrate “why they cannot get what they want done using AI” before requesting additional resources.

For language learners, the company promises faster development of new content and features like “Video Call” that were “impossible to build before.” Whether the quality of the AI-generated content will match that produced by human contractors remains to be seen.