Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn Reflects on AI Strategy Missteps and Lessons Learned

In 2023, Luis von Ahn, CEO of Duolingo, sent an internal memo about AI that unexpectedly went viral, igniting a firestorm about the future of work. Now, he reflects on what he got right, what he got wrong, and the lessons learned from the backlash about AI’s real limitations in education.

This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by Bob Safian, former editor-in-chief of Fast Company. Produced by the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with top business leaders navigating real-time challenges. Subscribe to Rapid Response wherever you get your podcasts to never miss an episode.

Learning AI: Motivation Matters More Than Fun

Bob Safian: Right now, much of the learning that businesspeople are being forced into is about AI. While that hasn’t been Duolingo’s focus, are there lessons from your approach to learning that apply to AI education?

Luis von Ahn: It’s not often framed as fun, but the most important thing about learning anything is that it keeps people motivated. There are multiple ways to keep people motivated. At Duolingo, we’ve chosen fun as our primary motivator, but that’s not the only way. For example, seeing results can be a powerful motivator. When learning AI, I’d argue that results—like building a dashboard—are a better motivator than fun. Finding the right motivation is key.

Duolingo’s 2023 AI Memo: A Riskier Move Than Expected

Safian: Last year, you sent an all-hands email about AI that sparked significant backlash. The memo stated that no new hires would be made unless teams demonstrated AI couldn’t do the job, and existing employees would be assessed on their AI use. It led to social media blowback and a dip in your stock price. Given your history of taking risks, was this a bigger gamble than you realized?

Von Ahn: Absolutely. I didn’t expect it to be controversial because, internally at Duolingo, it wasn’t. We started as a technology company, and I’ve always been deeply involved with AI—I used to teach the AI class at Carnegie Mellon University and have always embraced AI wherever possible. So internally, the memo wasn’t controversial at all.

Externally, I realize now that I wasn’t clear enough. The way I wrote it, without additional context, left it open to interpretation that I was trying to fire a lot of employees. But that was never the intention. We’ve never done that, and we never intended to.