As if this monster could get any grimier.

See How It Falls

As a long-time language learner, the world-famous Duolingo website and app played a major part of my learning, and this is going back a good eight or nine years. But I noticed, in recent times, that my enthusiasm for this website had just died. Completely. And at first, I wasn't sure why. But now I am.

Looking at recent coverage of what is now a fairly obvious crash in the popularity of Duolingo, there's no question about the cause. Since the company decided to replace people with AI, and with the obvious human cost aside, the quality of the lessons has dropped dramatically. Users are reporting that even the most basic lessons now contain glaring mistakes, the app highlights mistakes that are actually correct, the lessons have become boring and repetitive, and the overall user experience has fallen apart. In short, AI has taken a huge dump on a previously successful and useful project.

My own engagement with the system has almost completely dried up, now, and now that I've had time to think about it, I can see that it's for the same reason. It seems that, if it's not trying to kill you, clone itself, manipulate world markets or convince you that the system you live in isn't, in fact, the matrix, where you are being farmed for your energy and attention... it's just ruining your experience with products and services that you used to enjoy.

Of course, there is an up-side, and it's something I want you to think about, because it applies to AI as a whole - in fact, it applies to everything.

Following complaints from users who agreed that the "AI first" business model the Duo team stupidly thought was a great idea, they have now humiliatingly U-turned on it. People said no, and everything changed.

At the start of their AI shit show, the founders were quoted many times saying:

And now, after the shit has hit the fan and covered their yachts in a filmy, hard-to-shift residue, they've started saying:

The U-Turn That "No" Created

Before AI turned Duolingo to shit:

After people complained about AI turning it to shit:

Non-AI Alternatives To Duolingus

iTalki connects you to a teacher - yes, a living man or woman.

Or you might like my personal favorite:
Conversation Exchange lets you find native speakers in your area who are learning your language, so you can swap. It's a great way to make friends, learn for free and stay motivated.

Comment if you have a suggestion for learning languages without AI.