Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn makes a prediction on how AI will change schools in future

Duolingo CEO Luis von Ann recently predicted that artificial intelligence (AI) will fundamentally transform education, shifting the role of schools from traditional learning institutions to childcare and supervised spaces. As reported by Business Insider, speaking at the No Priors podcast, von Ahn stressed on the fact that AI’s scalability makes it more efficient than human teachers and it can be easily used for personalised education. "Education is going to change. It's just a lot more scalable to teach with AI than with teachers,” von Ahn said.

Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn feels that AI will take over teaching
Von Ahn suggests that AI will increasingly handle the core instruction in schools. He believes that AI can deliver personalised education more effectively than traditional classroom models with teachers. AI system can be designed to precisely track individual student progress, identify areas where they struggle and then tailor the learning experience accordingly.

Schools won’t disappear, but their role will change: Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn
While Von Ahn does not believe schools will vanish, he foresees a future where AI tutors handle most of the teaching, while schools primarily serve as safe environments for children. He explained that AI can track individual student performance in real time, adjusting lesson plans to match each child’s learning pace—something human teachers struggle to do in large classrooms.

“That doesn't mean the teachers are going to go away. You still need people to take care of the students. I also don't think schools are going to go away because you still need childcare,” von Ahn said on the podcast.

This doesn't mean teachers will become obsolete, according to von Ahn. Instead, their responsibilities may evolve. Teachers could transition from primarily delivering instruction to supervising students, providing guidance, and fostering social and emotional development.

Von Ahn also points out that the integration of AI in education is already happening. Duolingo, for example, is restructuring its operations to embrace an "AI-first" approach. This includes using AI for tasks previously done by contractors and incorporating AI into employee performance reviews.