Duolingo's CEO says the company backtracked on evaluating AI use in performance reviews

In a recent episode of the "Silicon Valley Girl" podcast, Duolingo's CEO, Luis von Ahn, revealed that the company has decided to reverse its earlier strategy of incorporating AI usage into employee performance reviews. This change came after employees expressed concerns that the emphasis on AI might be more about compliance than enhancing their job performance. Initially, Duolingo had planned to evaluate how employees integrated AI into their work as part of a broader "AI-first" strategy, outlined in a memo from April 2025. However, the feedback from staff indicated that they felt pressured to use AI tools, leading Von Ahn to reassess the approach. He stated, "At the end, we backtracked, and we said no. The most important thing in your performance is that you are doing whatever your job is as well as possible." Von Ahn acknowledged that while AI could be beneficial in many cases, it should not be a mandatory component of every task. He noted, "It felt like, rather than being held accountable for the actual outcome, we were trying to just push something that in some cases did not fit." Despite this reversal, the CEO mentioned that Duolingo would continue to explore the use of AI in other areas, such as hiring practices and reducing reliance on contractors for tasks that AI could perform. Following the memo and subsequent online backlash, he clarified on LinkedIn that the company was still hiring at its usual pace and emphasized that AI would not replace the essential work done by Duolingo's employees. Duolingo's decision to step back from integrating AI into performance reviews contrasts with trends at other tech companies. For instance, Meta has established specific goals for AI usage among employees, while Google has indicated that non-technical staff are expected to incorporate AI into their workflows, with performance reviews reflecting this expectation.