After weeks of causing employees anxiety as a result of the company’s” AI-first” change, Luis von Ahn, the bank’s chief executive officer and co-founder, is attempting to address those concerns. Von Ahn acknowledged in a new LinkedIn post that his previous conversation was unclear and sought to convince both the public and the employees about the bank’s potential with artificial intelligence.
Von Ahn wrote on Linked In,” One of the most crucial things leaders can do is provide clarity.” ” I didn’t do that well when I released my Artificial note a few weeks ago,” I said.
The clarity comes after the company’s AI strategy was criticized both internally and externally for the use of AI tools and a bigger role for relational AI in content development.
According to the CEO, AI won’t replace people,
Von Ahn emphasized that the” Duos” of their employees are not in danger. To be clear, he wrote,” I do not believe that AI will replace what our employees do ( we are actually hiring employees at the same rate as before” ).
He even acknowledged the worry that many people have about the potential impact of AI at work. He said,” AI is creating confusion for all of us, and we can react with dread or curiosity.” ” I’ve often urged our staff to accept new technology, and we are doing the same with AI.”
Von Ahn claims that the purpose is not to replace people but to “accelerate what we do, at the same or better level of quality.” He claimed that Duolingo is organizing workshops, expert councils, and time for AI experiment to aid teams in adapting.
What caused the uproar?
The original criticism sparked a strong upcoming for AI at Duolingo, as per the initial memo. Von Ahn wrote in it that the business had “gradually cease using contractors to perform work that AI is control.”
This change was a part of a larger effort to be” AI-first,” which was supported by recent increases in the number of courses that relational AI has made possible.
Also the employer is encouraging AI usage in performance reviews and hiring. Despite promises, many people thought this was a sign of more fundamental structural changes in the workplace. Duolingo had previously reduced 10 % of its company labor by January 2024, citing benefits from AI-driven content development. According to a previous specialist who spoke unnamed, cuts were primarily intended to lower costs and increase production.
Von Ahn acknowledged prospective quality issues, saying,” We’d rather walk with urgency and take sporadic minor hits on excellent than move slowly and lose that moment.”
Similar” AI-first” views have been taken by Shopify and Klarna.
Duolingo isn’t the only one making this change; Shopify and Klarna are two examples of similar AI-centric swivels, with Klarna’s CEO claiming that its chatbot then performs the function of 700 customer service agents.
Employees are also receiving more and more negative feedback. A recent study found that 31 % of employees have turned down using AI tools at work, with some expressing fear of job loss or frustration with the tools themselves.
Trotz this opposition, von Ahn maintains optimism regarding the potential of AI. He continued,” Our quest isn’t changing.” However, the instruments we use to create innovative things will change.
