Duolingo: AI Can't Compete with Human Talent, Says CEO

AI Facing Creative Talent at Duolingo

Luis von Ahn, the CEO of Duolingo, recently expressed his doubts about the ability of artificial intelligence to replace human talent, particularly in the field of design. During an episode of the "Rapid Response" podcast, he stated that AI cannot reach the level of creativity or finish that the best designers on his team can provide. According to him, there are tasks that AI cannot replace, and he does not want to compromise the quality of his team's work by pushing them to use AI unnecessarily.

Von Ahn clarified that his team tries to use AI as much as possible, but they do not want to "diminish quality." "For certain tasks, AI is ready to deliver high-quality work. For others, it simply is not," he said. He added, "We are not going to lower the quality just to use AI."

When podcast host Bob Safian asked where AI still lags behind, von Ahn mentioned the field of design. "For example, we hire a lot of artists and designers, and our app is very polished in terms of design," he explained. "We simply do not see AI reaching the level of creativity or finish that our top talents possess, in any way."

Reevaluation of Assessment Criteria

Last April, Duolingo announced its intention to evaluate employee performance partly based on their use of AI. However, this decision was later rescinded. Von Ahn explained that this rule had pushed employees to use AI in areas where it was not necessary, which he deemed unfair. "I don't think that's fair," he stated during the podcast episode regarding the assessment criteria. "While most employees benefit from using AI, there are projects or roles where it might not help."

He added, "So, making a blanket statement that we were going to evaluate employees based on their use of AI was unnecessary. We removed that."

AI in the Creative Industry

Despite these reservations, Duolingo acknowledges the growing importance of AI in creative industries. AI tools have proliferated in these sectors, with companies increasingly using them for everything from marketing assets to product design. Some companies, like Kate Spade and Tapestry, the parent company of Coach, have stated that AI is already part of their designers' workflows. However, for Duolingo, the priority remains to maintain a level of design quality that only human expertise can guarantee.