Duolingo’s CEO Thinks It’s About To Get Easier To Learn Languages (And Everything Else)
As you might expect, AI plays a major role in his assessment.
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Subscribe for free to get more stories like this directly to your inboxWhen it comes to companies that offer a modern, tech-focused method for learning another language, Duolingo is among the most successful of the bunch. Much of that popularity comes from the unique, almost game-like method of teaching languages.
Despite his company’s success so far, however, CEO Luis von Ahn isn’t under the illusion that what has worked in the past will continue working in the future.
The AI interruption
In a recent interview, von Ahn explained how he believes artificial intelligence has already altered the course of education across all conceivable subjects. His response to that assessment has been multifaceted, including an effort to integrate AI into the Duolingo platform in a way that will make it more interactive (and thereby more effective).
As a result, Duolingo Max now offers an AI assistant, Lily, which is capable of participating in live chats and video calls.
“The other thing is that she has memory, so she remembers the last time you talked about something,” von Ahn said. “For example, I just had a conversation today where she remembered that, last time, we talked about the fact that I like Nirvana. She was telling me that her favorite song is ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’”
Beyond languages
It’s clear that von Ahn is focused on utilizing new technology and strategies to help people learn languages. And the fact that roughly 80% of the company’s revenue comes from customers willing to pay for a subscription drives home the fact that plenty of people find the service valuable.
But Duolingo is still busy looking for new ways to make learning languages easier, including by implementing AI in new and creative ways. And the goal extends beyond that, with the company venturing into new areas of education including math and music.
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