Duolingo’s battle for learning in an AI world, with Luis von Ahn

When Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn sent an internal memo about AI last year, he didn't expect it to go viral — or to ignite a firestorm about the future of work. Now he joins Rapid Response to unpack what he got right, what he got wrong, and what the backlash taught him about the real limitations of AI. Von Ahn also reveals why he's made a deliberate pivot in 2026: chasing users, not revenue — and what that bet says about how big Duolingo can get before ads become inevitable. It's a candid reckoning with hype, growth, and the surprisingly complicated promise of technology in education. Visit the Rapid Response website here: See Privacy Policy at and California Privacy Notice at .

You can listen to Duolingo’s battle for learning in an AI world, with Luis von Ahn online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Duolingo’s battle for learning in an AI world, with Luis von Ahn is an episode from Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman by WaitWhat.

This episode is 00:31:38 long.

This episode was published on May 12, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.