Did Duolingo Ceo Luis Von Ahn Really Predict That AI Will Replace Teachers in the Future?

We know that the use of AI could eventually take a disastrous toll on the limited resources of our planet, but could our reliance on AI for learning eventually make the gatekeepers of knowledge — the teachers we hold dear — relics of a bygone era? Could AI really, truly replace both the harmful teachers, as well as the respected, life-altering ones?

According to one famous tech giant CEO, the future of AI in classrooms should put educators on high alert.

If you haven't heard all of the hullabaloo about teachers being replaced by robots, you're in for a fascinating read. Though you may be a fan of one particularly popular app, you may not necessarily agree with the ideas espoused by that company's CEO.

Continue reading to understand what one prognosticator believes the future holds for education, educators, and the role of AI in teaching children.

As Fortune reports, Duolingo famously — and controversially, much to the dismay of countless users — killed off its beloved mascot, and in turn, temporarily replaced von Ahn with an AI avatar on an earnings call. Not to mention, per the report, Duolingo is replacing its contract workers with AI, as well.

Speaking on the No Priors podcast with co-hosts Elad Gil and Sarah Guo, von Ahn opined that, “Ultimately, I’m not sure that there’s anything computers can’t really teach you."

Followers of von Ahn may recall that he has spoken about the future of education for at least a decade or more. Considering von Ahn may envision a boundless future with AI playing the instrumental role in educating children, he also noted that "it’s just a lot more scalable to teach with AI than with teachers.”

True, while AI has fascinating potential, one Fortune contributor has also reported in the past that the use of AI takes an enormous toll on the world's scarcest resource: water.

Nevertheless, von Ahn and the AI-obsessed Duolingo heads seem less concerned about the environmental toll of AI than anything else. In fact, the only reason von Ahn believes teachers won't be completely obsolete is because they provide necessary guardianship of children for several hours each day.

“By the way, that doesn’t mean the teachers are going to go away, you still need people to take care of the students,” von Ahn said, via Fortune. “I also don’t think schools are going to go away, because you still need childcare.”

To his credit, von Ahn cited the challenges that students face when competing for a single teacher's attention, especially as class sizes may feature 30 or more students.

“It’s one teacher and like 30 students, each teacher cannot give individualized attention to each student,” von Ahn said on the No Priors podcast. “But the computer can. And really, the computer can actually...have very precise knowledge about what you, what this one student is good at and bad at.”

Ultimately, if von Ahn is correct, students may eventually receive more personalized learning experiences while still enjoying the presence of teachers serving as guardians in physical schools.