This post was originally featured in the May 28th, 2025 newsletter found here: INBOX INSIGHTS, May 28, 2025: When AI-First Goes Wrong, Using AI on Your Dark Data
When AI-First Goes Spectacularly Wrong: Part 1
Last week, we talked about why leading with fear doesn’t make you a leader. If you missed that issue, you can find it here. It seems like this trend is coming to light more and more.
Over the weekend, I read about Duolingo’s spectacular communication meltdown. CEO Luis von Ahn didn’t just implement a questionable AI strategy—he committed one of the most catastrophic communication failures I’ve seen in recent memory.
And here’s the kicker: just one week later, he was on LinkedIn doing damage control, walking back almost everything he’d said.
The Announcement That Broke Trust in Record Time
In late April 2025, von Ahn announced Duolingo’s “AI-first” strategy with these key messages:
- Plans to “gradually stop using contractors to do work AI can handle”
- Only add new employees “if a team cannot automate more of their work”
- Evaluate employees’ AI fluency in annual reviews
- AI would soon teach better than humans at greater scale
Every element sent the same message to his workforce: You are a problem to be solved, not an asset to be leveraged.
The response was brutal. Users flooded social media with criticism, with one TikTok commenter capturing the sentiment: “mama may I have real people running the company 💔” The backlash forced Duolingo to execute a complete social media blackout.
The Inevitable Backtrack
One week later, von Ahn was back on LinkedIn with completely different messaging:
“To be clear: I do not see AI as replacing what our employees do (we are in fact continuing to hire at the same speed as before). I see it as a tool to accelerate what we do, at the same or better level of quality.”
This is exactly what he should have led with. The fact that he had to completely reverse course reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of change communication.
Framework 1: The ADKAR Failure
Jeff Hiatt’s ADKAR model from Prosci shows us exactly why Duolingo’s announcement failed. ADKAR stands for Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement—the building blocks people need for successful change.
Von Ahn’s original messaging:
- Awareness: ✅ Everyone knew about the AI strategy
- Desire: ❌ Created fear, not desire for change
- Knowledge: ❌ No explanation of employee transitions
- Ability: ❌ No concrete training plans mentioned
- Reinforcement: ❌ Reinforced human obsolescence
Score: 1 out of 5.
His corrected LinkedIn post hit all five elements—clear human roles, AI as acceleration, partnership approach, promised workshops, and ongoing support. This should have been his opening strategy.
Framework 2: The Golden Circle Disaster
Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle framework reveals another critical error. Leaders should communicate Why (purpose), then How (process), then What (outcome).
Von Ahn’s Backwards Approach:
- What: “We’re going AI-first and eliminating contractors”
- How: “AI can handle human work”
- Why: “Because AI is the future” (barely articulated)
This triggered immediate threat responses.
What He Should Have Done:
- Why: “Help more people learn languages while making our team’s work more impactful”
- How: “AI handles routine tasks so experts focus on innovation and cultural nuance”
- What: “New tools and expanded AI-enhanced career opportunities”
Starting with Why creates excitement instead of fear.
What Every Leader Should Do Before AI Announcements
Before communicating any AI strategy, run it through both frameworks:
ADKAR Checklist:
- Does my message create awareness without fear?
- Will people desire this change?
- Am I providing clear transition knowledge?
- Are there concrete ability-building plans?
- What reinforcement am I promising? Golden Circle Test:
- Am I starting with Why this benefits people?
- Do I explain How we’ll partner, not replace?
- Are the What outcomes exciting, not threatening?
The Real Lesson
Von Ahn’s backtrack revealed he understood the right approach all along. His tragedy was leading with replacement rhetoric instead of partnership language, creating an entirely avoidable crisis.
The most damaging part? Once you’ve told your workforce they’re replaceable, you can’t just take it back with a LinkedIn post. Trust, once broken, is incredibly difficult to rebuild.
Research shows that 3 in 4 AI initiatives fail to deliver promised ROI, and AI hasn’t delivered the massive productivity gains leaders promise. Yet they keep making bold proclamations to excite investors, then scrambling to reassure employees when reality hits.
The question for your organization: Are you communicating AI as a threat or as an opportunity? Because your people are listening, and they’re making decisions about their future based on what they hear.
This is Part 1 of a 5-part series on AI implementation failures and how to avoid them. Next up: Why the AI hype-backtrack cycle is becoming predictable across companies—and how to avoid it entirely.
What are your thoughts on AI-first strategies?
Reply to this email to tell me, or come join the conversation in our free Slack Group, Analytics for Marketers.
– Katie Robbert, CEO
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