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Duolingo announced layoffs for around 10% of its translation contractors on Tuesday, amid a shift to rely more heavily on AI for content production.
The language learning app confirmed that some of the contractors that lost their jobs at the end of 2023 were due to AI-related changes.
Duolingo introduced a suite of AI-powered features on its platform in 2023. Birdbrain, Duolingo’s proprietary AI model, creates personalized lessons for users. It also used OpenAI’s GPT-4 to power a subscription-level tier, “Duolingo Max,” including AI generated feedback and a chatbot.
CEO and Co-Founder Luis von Ahn stated in a shareholder letter in November 2023 that “it’s inspiring to see how much progress we’ve made using generative AI over the past few quarters. Generative AI is accelerating our work by helping us create new content dramatically faster.”
Duolingo confirmed on Tuesday that full-time employees were unaffected by the job cuts. It also stated that it sought alternative roles for any contractor at risk of layoffs, with off-boarding as a last resort.
But as more organizations shift to AI, employees are in the firing line. Duolingo is not alone in replacing its workforce with AI, with companies such as Chegg attributing layoffs to the integration of AI in 2023.
Moreover, in November, ResumeBuilder surveyed 750 business leaders at companies that currently or plan to use AI in 2024. 37% of companies already using AI say they replaced workers with the technology in 2023. 44% of companies surveyed say AI will lead to layoffs in 2024.
Who’s at risk of AI redundancy?
Duolingo’s move to lay off 10% of its contractors is a clear sign that contingent workers find themselves in a position of vulnerability as AI-driven models offer lower costs and a greater volume of output.
Contingent workers, including contractors, freelance staff, and part-time employees can allow organizations to spin up (or spin down) their workforce rapidly. This may be to deliver business community during spikes in demand, such as DHL over the holiday period when shipping requirements are highest. Other reasons may include accelerating pivots in strategy or new product development, or, in this case, to quickly shift to AI.
The contingent workforce model, at its heart, offers companies far more flexibility than hiring full-time employees. AI adoption therefore represents a significant threat to these workers if it can offer companies substantial cost-savings and increased output.
Simply put, the barriers to losing contract and contingent workers are inherently less than full-time employees.
That said, full-time employees are still at risk of redundancy. Although the barriers to laying off a full-time employee are greater, the cost of full-time employees is often far higher. The global contingent workforce industry booming and is estimated to generate $465.2 billion by 2031.
However, organizations that take a longer-term view may prioritize long-term workforce flexibility and cost reduction above the quick fix of replacing contract and contingent workers with AI.
HR’s role in protecting all workers
In practice, organizations will base their decisions for work allocation and AI adoption on their business case. Throughout this process, HR must seek to protect all employees – full-time, contractors, or contingent workers – from losing their jobs to AI.
Organizations must do all they can to reallocate or reskill workers in the firing line. Indeed, Duolingo says it attempted to find new roles for all contractors being let go as a priority, before carrying out off-boarding conversations.
But these conversations must start before layoffs are inevitable. Proactively working with employees to develop their ability to work alongside AI offers a far greater proposition to workers and companies alike, rather than a last-minute reallocation.
A Korn Ferry study found nearly 44% of surveyed CEOs believed employees need to develop new skills to prepare for an AI-driven business environment. Businesses, and HR, must therefore create structured opportunities for development, such as Amazon’s Machine Learning University, which offers “anybody, anywhere, at any time access to the same machine learning courses used to train Amazon’s own developers on machine learning.”
Extending support for AI skills development beyond full-time employees to include contractors and contingent workers is a critical step in ensuring all workers are equally protected from the risk of losing their job to AI.
How are you protecting your contractors and contingent workers from being replaced by AI?
