Duolingo announced that it "offboarded" 10% of its contractors as it transitions towards generative AI translations for its language-learning platform.
A spokesperson from Duolingo told Bloomberg that the educational technology company "just no longer need as many people to do the type of work."
Many of the laid-off contractors are quality checkers for the AI translations Duolingo has previously employed.
The company said it will now utilize AI more across the platform to generate acceptable translations for its courses and review error reports at a much faster rate.
Duolingo said no full-time employees were affected by the layoffs.
The company assured that it is "swapping the expertise of human experts for AI" but rather use it "to increase productivity and efficiency," CNN reported.
CEO Luis von Ahn has been pushing for more integration of generative AI to the educational software as early as November to help "us create new content dramatically faster."
Duolingo Translation Errors Increase Since 2022
Reports of erroneous Duolingo translations have been going on since 2022 as the company gamifies the app.
Users commonly complain that the free version of the app provides direct translations of foreign languages without any of the nuances in the original sentence.
Its $30 per month Max plan is notably better with the integration of ChatGPT-4 to translate and introduce users to new languages.
The translation quality can be considered "worth the price" for users dedicated to learning English, French, or Spanish. Translation results for other languages vary.
More Lay Offs Expected in 2024
Duolingo is the latest software company that declared layoff for the first quarter this year as the tech industry leans more toward sourcing AI.
IT jobs have been reported to suffer slower growth last year, while dismissals in the industry have grown.
More layoffs are expected, not only in Duolingo, in the coming months as companies refocus on the newest trend on tech advancements.
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