Duolingo CEO says AI will handle most education, schools may become ‘childcare centres’

Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn predicts that while schools won’t disappear, AI will take over the teaching role, transforming schools into supervised spaces.

With advancing technologies, Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn predicted that while schools will likely continue to exist in the age of artificial intelligence (AI), their primary role could change significantly. Speaking on the No Priors podcast, von Ahn explained that AI’s scalability will reshape education, making it more efficient than traditional classroom models.

Duolingo, an early adopter of AI in education, is already restructuring its operations to reflect this transformation.(AP)

"Education is going to change. It's just a lot more scalable to teach with AI than with teachers," he said. According to von Ahn, the role of teachers won’t be eliminated, but they may become more focused on supervision rather than instruction. “That doesn't mean the teachers are going to go away. You still need people to take care of the students. I also don't think schools are going to go away because you still need childcare,” he added.

He gave the example of a typical classroom with 30 students, where a teacher struggles to deliver personalised attention. AI, in contrast, could provide real-time feedback tailored to each student’s needs. “You still need people to take care of the students but the computer can know very precisely what you're good at and bad at — something a teacher just can't track for 30 students at once,” von Ahn explained.

ChatGPT has been a game changer 

Since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, AI tools have seen rapid adoption, especially among students. Educational institutions are now racing to adapt as AI-driven learning becomes more mainstream.

Duolingo, one of the early adopters of AI in education, is already aligning its operations around this shift. The company recently announced that it would phase out contractors for tasks that AI can now perform. Reflecting on the decision, von Ahn likened the shift to the company’s bold move in 2012 to prioritise mobile platforms.

"I've said this in Q&As and many meetings, but I want to make it official: Duolingo is going to be AI-first. AI is already changing how work gets done. It's not a question of if or when. It's happening now," von Ahn wrote in a company-wide memo shared on Duolingo’s LinkedIn page.

Duolingo also plans to use AI to assess employee performance and will limit new hires unless the work cannot be automated.