People outraged by Duolingo CEO's controversial email to employees that announces AI will replace contract workers

Just in case you weren't worried enough that artificial intelligence was coming to take our jobs, Duolingo has made a controversial announcement about the future of the popular language app.

While the typically friendly and helpful app has offered us the chance to learn 43 different languages, ranging from Russian to Navajo, it's not just Duo the Owl that's been left with an angry face.

Duolingo was recently in the news over the bizarre decision to seemingly kill off Duo, and while this ended up being part of a wider marketing stunt, it sounds like the latest headline-grabbing news is the real deal.

Now, Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn has been caught in the crosshairs of AI controversy after announcing the future of the company will see it pivot into becoming 'AI first' and potentially put jobs on the line.

Posting on LinkedIn (via The Verge), an email from von Ahn reiterated how Duolingo will "gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle."

In terms of becoming AI first, Duolingo will "need to rethink much of how we work" as von Ahn adds that "making minor tweaks to systems designed for humans won’t get us there."

The first steps involve 'a few constructive constraints' that will start with AI being used for hiring and conducting performance reviews.

As part of this, "headcount will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work."

The Duolingo CEO has promised that this is about 'removing bottlenecks' and will hopefully assist employees in being able to "focus on creative work and real problems, not repetitive tasks."

The controversial email continued: "AI isn’t just a productivity boost. It helps us get closer to our mission. To teach well, we need to create a massive amount of content, and doing that manually doesn’t scale.

"One of the best decisions we made recently was replacing a slow, manual content creation process with one powered by AI. Without AI, it would take us decades to scale our content to more learners. We owe it to our learners to get them this content ASAP."

He concludes by reassuring users and workers alike that "Duolingo will remain a company that cares deeply about its employees" and how "this isn’t about replacing Duos with AI."

Over on LinkedIn, one critic wrote: "So Duolingo is wholeheartedly endorsing an 'AI-first, employee-second' mentality. The mass layoffs will come soon."

Another added: "And I was just starting to enjoy Duolingo."

A third concluded: "I don’t think that your users signed up to be fed AI-generated crap. Good for you that you‘re publicly stating that your content quality will go downhill from this point on.”

While some have praised Duolingo for moving with the times, the email hasn't gotten the warm reception von Ahn was presumably hoping for.