#duolingo AI

[teddyshmeddy]

google said foxes are an owls natural predator btw

[smallsinger5901]

fighting for my life rn in duolingos instagram comment section after calling them out for firing 10% of their translators and replacing them with AI on their latest post

[sharky-the-idiot]

WAIT WAIT WAIT WHAT'S THIS ABOUT DUOLINGO SWITCHING TO AI??????

[for anybody unaware the context is that I said I'd know more French if Duolingo didn't switch to ai on my Rococo account]

But yeah, you didn't know? Didn't duolingo fired their translators and switch to ai? I should probably reblog w the post linked but I remember seeing it somewhere

[cryptablog]

And I just hit mt 365 day streak too.

Welp when y'all give the go ahead I'll delete it.

stand with the opressed never the opressor

[miaowmelodie]

Does anyone know of free apps similar to Duolingo (but non ai operated) that teach swedish?

[jthehumanbeing]

I do want to chime in as somehow who has been using Duolingo to learn a second language since the US education system radically failed to do this. As someone who knows multiple people going for terminal degrees which require multiple languages, and are supplementing the (poor) language classes they’re taking through their universities via Duolingo.

If you go to settings, there’s a feedback section that will allow you to send an email directly to Duolingo. Not everyone is going to know that they started using AI instead of real translators, so the only way they’ll know people are disgruntled is if we tell them. This is what my email is going to say:

To whom it may concern,

I am a longtime user of Duolingo, and have been very happy with the quality of the app and the program up until now. It has come to my attention that there have been mass layoffs of Duolingo staff in favor of moving to an AI based learning system. I find this to be a problem, as language is something that is fluid and complicated, something that an algorithmic program would struggle to replicate. Already there have been people noticing more incorrect solutions to problems, incorrect pronunciations, and other errors in their learning since the implementation of the new AI system.

Since I have been using Duolingo for so long, I would hate to have to switch programs. However, for me, the use of AI over human translators is something I cannot overlook. If Duolingo continues down this path of only using AI, I will have no choice but to look elsewhere for language learning solutions. For now I have canceled my Duolingo super, but should these concerns not be addressed I will likely cease using the app entirely and delete my account.

Sincerely,

J

Heads up to not use Duolingo or to cease using it

In December 2023 they laid off a huge percentage of their translation teams, replacing them with ai and having the remaining members review the ai translations to make sure the translations are “acceptable” (Note how they use the world acceptable and not accurate)

Link to the tweet that informed me of this:

https://x.com/rahll/status/1744234385891594380?s=46&t=a5vK0RLlkgqk-CTqc0Gvvw

If you’re a current user prepare for an uptick in translations errors as I’ve already seen people in the comments say they’ve noticed

[haley-harrison]

DUOLINGO?!?!?!

[mysterygrl20]

duolingo owl came for steamboat willie

[official-ottawa]

Hey uh. I know learning languages is cool and shit but you should ideally not be using Duolingo.

They have been letting go of their human staff and replacing them with AI, leading to a ton of mistakes.

(also while practicing my first language - not English, which I have been speaking since I learned how to talk and writing since I learned how to write - kept saying I was wrong except I wasn't. It leaves no room for nuance/multiple correct answers)

There are other language apps, but also check out your library! They have language tools for FREE

[selfloathingextraordinaire]

With what's happened with Duolingo, I'm looking for a new language app, but need some help.

Is there a Japanese language app that is:

Great for people with learning disabilities (my brain struggles with language and has to learn it very slowly)

Kid friendly

Colorful

I've seen a bunch of posts with all these recommendations, but it's super overwhelming and I have no idea where to start.

[inkedmyths]

Man deleting Duolingo REALLY sucks. I felt like I'd built up a nice little learning habit, yknow? And ofc the whole "breaking the streak" feels bad. But there's no point if they're just going to replace it with AI.

[sylvthara]

anyway with Duolingo's AI enshittification here's a short list of alternatives to check out:

Memrise

Lingodeer

Babbel

Busuu

Rosetta Stone

Pimsleur

Drops

Italki

Lingvist

Also check out r/languagelearning since they have a much larger list of resources with more than just language learning apps like the ones I listed above.

[santaclaushohoho1]

"oh hey i wonder what's going on with Duolingo, the tag is trending, i bet its more funny twee-"

[3rdexistence]

For everyone recommending Busuu as an alternative for Duolingo: stop.

It uses AI voices (as in literally the "sigma chad guy voice used on TikTok).

Plus, today I recieved a deepfake video on a listening exercise (speakers' facial expressions didn't match their tone or what they were saying, those unnatural circular head movements that most deepfake videos do, very periodic blinking and arm movement, eye level never changes).

Additionally, I'm pretty sure that the German course to learn Dutch is just a translation of the English version, because the German instructions were often weird/unnecessary/explaining stuff you wouldn't have to explain to a German speaker but to an English speaker.

Also on some translations they straight-up forgot to change the English translation to a German one.

At this point it just feels like we have to abandon the concept of language learning apps completely because they're all starting to use AI (and AI does *not* understand language).

tldr: Busuu is just as bad as Duolingo because it uses AI translations, voices, and videos

[eightopals]

Well, that sucks. I don’t really trust AI to make decent translations.

[birdyverdie]

ive been itching to learn a vocal language. Sign language is good and very helpful for my stimmy self, but I kinda wanna learn something to speak