Online users and staff at Duolingo have taken to questioning the company’s decision to switch to AI content translation.
well-known language-learning app The most recent tech business to lay off employees is Duolingo. Which is removing 10% of its contractors as it starts to transition from human-led to AI-led translation.
An ex-employee revealed the information in a widely shared Reddit thread. Explaining that the remaining translators will be in charge of monitoring the AI-led translations to ensure they are appropriate.
But Duolingo claims that it does not have any official “layoffs” and that the majority of its staff members have been maintained. The Pittsburgh-based company continues to face unfavorable social media responses from those who are concerned that artificial intelligence is taking jobs too much.
You can check the article: How To Set Up My PS5 SSD In 2024?
Duolingo Adopts Generative AI at the Expense of Jobs
The foreign language learning app Duolingo, like the majority of businesses in 2024. Has lately increased its investment in generative AI technologies like ChatGPT and utilizes such technology to develop content far more quickly than it was able to do in the past.
But this change in direction has come at the cost of job security at the company. A Duolingo spokesman said yesterday that the language program recently laid off 10% of its employees who worked on translations.
Simply said, we don’t need as many workers to complete the kind of work that some of these providers were performing. AI may have contributed to some of that, according to a Duolingo representative.
The company certifies that no translators were purposefully let go and that these changes were only partly prompted by their recent decision to prioritize AI. Rather, Duolingo chose not to renew the projects of temporary workers after they reached the end of their contract at the end of 2023.
To the disgust of many of its workers and clients. Duolingo is steadily replacing human labor with AI, even in the absence of public staff layoffs.
Online Reaction to Duolingo’s Decision
An old employee of Duolingo named No_Comb_4582 posted a widely shared article on Reddit that first revealed the company’s personnel changes.
The translator noted in the article that he worked for Duolingo for five years before his contract expired. During this time the company had grown from a team of four to a team of two due to a change in strategy. The remaining employees now only check AI-generated content to ensure it is appropriate.
There are presently 583 comments on the Reddit thread that ask users what they think of Duolingo’s new AI-led strategy. The article has generated a lot of strong opinions over the company’s decision to reduce the number of human translators.
Most of the comments showed disapproval of Duolingo’s conduct; several expressed sympathy for the laid-off contractors. While others asserted that the company’s use of native speakers is directly at odds with the shift.
Some people, such as @EqualataralProphecy. Clarified that this action is part of a larger pattern where workers are being replaced with faster ones. Less expensive AI replacements. This is a story that we will see almost every day. People attempting to advance their professions will find things much harder as a result, the user said.
Is the AI Removal of Jobs Nearing?
Even if Duolingo’s most recent indicates are unpopular, they are not the only ones.
Many businesses are adopting AI technology at the cost of their human workforce as growing rates of inflation keep putting pressure on their finances and as the technology becomes more powerful every day.
For example, after reducing 19,000 employees in the first half of 2023, IT company Accenture recently declared it would be investing $3 billion in AI technology. This decision is consistent with those made by IMB, which is still eliminating “repetitive white-collar roles” in favor of artificial intelligence.
The majority of the time, AI is viewed as a tool to enhance employment rather than an actual danger. But given that studies suggest that by 2023, quickly developing technology may replace 2.4 million US employees, it’s hardly surprising that Duolingo’s most recent moves have caused anxiety among its staff members and other online users.
But given that our in-house Impact of Technology in the Workplace survey shows an excellent relationship between AI use and an ability to consider a 4-day workweek, there may be some advantages to AI’s almost natural rise.
If you have any questions about this topic then contact us on Twitter and Facebook pages.
