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Duolingo's Layoff: AI Takeover, Impacting Human Translators

19 points by trelane 3y ago

mrg3_2013 3y ago
Signs of things to come at a broader level in 2024.
hiatus 3y ago
Some more discussion about the reddit thread mentioned in the article here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38817550 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38817550
timetraveller26 3y ago
"In conclusion, Duolingo’s decision to replace human translators with AI is a significant development in the era of AI takeover. While it may lead to job losses in the short term, it could also pave the way for new opportunities in the future. As we navigate this new landscape, it’s crucial for individuals and businesses alike to stay informed and adapt accordingly." Was this written by ChatGPT?
- trelane 3y ago
  I heard it on Mastodon first, but there was not much there. I was searching for confirmation, and this was the best summary I could find; there's not a lot on it so far.
Tijdreiziger 3y ago
Reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/duolingo/comments/18sx06i/big_layoff_at_duolingo/ https://www.reddit.com/r/duolingo/comments/18sx06i/big_layof...
yurishimo 3y ago
As someone learning a second language as an adult, AI is an extremely interesting subject when it comes to this topic. We now have pretty good proof that LLMs are really good at having plausible conversations. The grammar is usually correct even if the content of the sentence is completely false. As a learner, this is great! I have an unlimited amount of access to novel stories and conversations with just a few prompts. When your business is focused on generating these interesting learning materials though, it’s completely against the interests of the employees currently creating this content. Duolingo does not need super articulate, Shakespearean levels of storytelling. Even today, go to any language learning subreddit, and goin back years, the sentences and stories on duolingo are sometimes comedically bad in terms of real world use and grammatical efficacy. It’s tough. I feel for the employees at these companies, but at the same time, to learn effectively, you need an insane amount of material at a very specific skill level. Generating this content is not easy for humans, but it’s almost effortless for an LLM. “Here’s a list of 2k words; write a story at an A2 level about this topic using past, present, and future tenses.” This is what this technology was designed to do. Interesting times!
Ghufran007 3y ago
That is interesting and scary
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
Suli001 3y ago
This is only going to increase the job crisis
JeanMarcS 3y ago
"Handmade translations can also bring a level of authenticity and creativity..." Is creativity (and so subjectivity) something that valuable ? Or is it a risk of adapting context from translator views ?

19 points by trelane 3y ago

mrg3_2013 3y ago

Signs of things to come at a broader level in 2024.

Some more discussion about the reddit thread mentioned in the article here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38817550 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38817550

timetraveller26 3y ago

"In conclusion, Duolingo’s decision to replace human translators with AI is a significant development in the era of AI takeover. While it may lead to job losses in the short term, it could also pave the way for new opportunities in the future. As we navigate this new landscape, it’s crucial for individuals and businesses alike to stay informed and adapt accordingly." Was this written by ChatGPT?

trelane 3y ago
I heard it on Mastodon first, but there was not much there. I was searching for confirmation, and this was the best summary I could find; there's not a lot on it so far.

Tijdreiziger 3y ago

Reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/duolingo/comments/18sx06i/big_layoff_at_duolingo/ https://www.reddit.com/r/duolingo/comments/18sx06i/big_layof...

yurishimo 3y ago

As someone learning a second language as an adult, AI is an extremely interesting subject when it comes to this topic. We now have pretty good proof that LLMs are really good at having plausible conversations. The grammar is usually correct even if the content of the sentence is completely false. As a learner, this is great! I have an unlimited amount of access to novel stories and conversations with just a few prompts. When your business is focused on generating these interesting learning materials though, it’s completely against the interests of the employees currently creating this content. Duolingo does not need super articulate, Shakespearean levels of storytelling. Even today, go to any language learning subreddit, and goin back years, the sentences and stories on duolingo are sometimes comedically bad in terms of real world use and grammatical efficacy. It’s tough. I feel for the employees at these companies, but at the same time, to learn effectively, you need an insane amount of material at a very specific skill level. Generating this content is not easy for humans, but it’s almost effortless for an LLM. “Here’s a list of 2k words; write a story at an A2 level about this topic using past, present, and future tenses.” This is what this technology was designed to do. Interesting times!

Ghufran007 3y ago

That is interesting and scary

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

Suli001 3y ago

This is only going to increase the job crisis

JeanMarcS 3y ago

"Handmade translations can also bring a level of authenticity and creativity..." Is creativity (and so subjectivity) something that valuable ? Or is it a risk of adapting context from translator views ?