Language App Duolingo Learns That AI Doesn’t Mean ‘Good’ To Everybody: A Cautionary Tale For “AI First” Brands

Investors and businesses tout AI as a generational tech shift that’ll boost worker efficiency, augment profits, and enhance products. But for the average user, AI is increasingly met with skepticism or outright anger. Duolingo ($DUOL) is learning this lesson the hard way, offering a reason or two for businesses to temper their AI talk with consumers.

• Last week, CEO Luis von Ahn told employees the firm was going “AI first,” measuring AI use by employees in the workplace while phasing out contractors.
• The backlash was swift, as the language-learning app lost over 300K followers on social media and was review-bombed in the App Store, with users complaining about bad AI translations and ‘enshittification.’

Words of caution: While businesses are making inroads selling AI products to each other, the online commentary around Duolingo’s recent AI pivot reveals the flip side of that tech optimism. An increasing share of Americans, skeptical of institutions, see AI as the latest bogeyman used by elites to justify job cuts — all while boosting executive compensation packages. To that end, messaging around the AI revolution may need to evolve, as the prevailing consensus on Wall Street may encounter increased resistance on Main Street. Still,DUOL

is down just 0.4% over the last five trading days.