The language learning app Duolingo has unveiled an AI-powered virtual tutor via two new features.
This comes hot on the heels of OpenAI announcing GPT-4 — the latest version of the AI model behind ChatGPT. Duolingo’s new paid ‘Max’ tier takes full advantage of the large language model’s powers.
Available to subscribers for £19.99 a month after a two-week free trial (reduced to £9.99 if you sign on for a year, and with a shared family subscription available), Duolingo Max’s new features are Roleplay and Explain My Answer.
The latter is self-explanatory. If you’ve ever been confused as to why your seemingly perfect response was, in fact, wrong, you can now ask Duo — a chatbot named after the company’s owl mascot — to explain it for you.
As the screens above show, you won’t be able to type a message directly to Duo. However, pre-filled responses allow you to ask for a more detailed explanation or to see an example, to really help you to nail the intricacies of a language.
More interesting is a feature called Roleplay. This lets you practise your second language in a conversational manner, as if you had a human tutor on hand. “Learners might discuss future vacation plans with Lin, order coffee at a café in Paris, go furniture shopping with Eddy, or ask a friend to go for a hike,” a post on the Duolingo blog explains.
“Although learners aren’t actually talking to a live human, the AI behind this feature is responsive and interactive, meaning no two conversations will be exactly alike,” the post adds.
The elephant in the room, of course, is that ChatGPT has not been completely accurate in the past — passing off invented information as objective truth. To put it mildly, that’s unhelpful when grappling with the intricacies of a second language.
The company tackles this head-on in the blog post, acknowledging the problem and outlining what it’s doing to mitigate risk.
“Part of the reason we’re so excited to use GPT-4 for these features is that it’s the most accurate (and fastest) version of the technology available,” the company writes. “We’ve spent months collaborating closely with OpenAI to test and train this technology, and will continue doing so until the mistakes are nearly nonexistent.”
All the same, the AI-generated explanations in both Roleplay and Explain My Answer are “constantly” being reviewed, the company claims — both for accuracy and to ensure the right tone (“fun, encouraging, and if you’re Duo, occasionally snarky”).
You’re also encouraged to report AI responses that don’t feel right. Just hold down an inaccurate message, select a reason for reporting, and the company will look into it.
There are some limitations. For now, it supports only English speakers looking to learn either French or Spanish. It’s also limited to the iOS version of Duolingo. More courses and platforms are expected “very soon.”
If you’re on iOS, you’re entitled to the free two-week trial (other platforms are set to follow soon). Just enter the shop tab via the gem icon at the top of your screen to get started. Bonne chance!
