Duolingo CEO Defends Entry-Level Jobs

As companies across industries pull back on hiring junior workers, Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn is taking a bold stand. “If you are really taking the long view and want to build a long-term product and company, hiring new grads is one of the best investments you can make,” he wrote on LinkedIn.

Luis’s view contrasts sharply with the dominant trend in tech and professional services, where AI is reshaping entry-level work and, in many cases, replacing it. But as the job ladder shifts, he believes the smartest companies will be those that keep betting on fresh talent.

• The Bottom Rung Is Breaking: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei predicts that AI could wipe out half of entry-level white-collar jobs within five years. Data support the claim. Graduate hiring in Big Tech is down 50 percent since 2019. AI systems now automate tasks that used to build experience for junior developers, legal associates, and support staff. ​Tom Davenport​ warned that “there is little need for low-skilled or entry-level employees once automated programs are in place,” and that companies risk weakening their own talent pipeline by not developing future experts.
• Duolingo's Culture of Growth: At Duolingo, early career employees are empowered. “They have not been told certain things cannot work, so they make them work,” Luis wrote. In a ​Stanford Business interview​, he explained how AI allows new hires to offload routine work and spend time on more creative, high-leverage tasks. Entire products, like the company’s new chess course, were prototyped by team members with no prior experience in chess or coding, guided by AI tools.
• AI Fluency Is the New Baseline: Instead of eliminating early roles, companies can reshape them. ​I previously suggested​ that entry-level positions must evolve into AI-native roles. Graduates should be hired not only for curiosity, but also for their ability to prompt, build, and work alongside AI. Tom Davenport agrees. He urges young professionals to develop a digital mindset, use AI actively and critically, and pair it with deep subject knowledge to stay competitive.

The Bottom Line

“I don’t want to look back in 5 years and think: Why didn’t we bet on early talent when everyone else was scared?” wrote Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn.

While much of the conversation around AI focuses on what it replaces, there is another reality unfolding. Young people are still graduating, still taking their first steps into the working world. They deserve a chance to contribute, to learn, and to grow. And you may be surprised—some of them will bring fresh perspectives and bold ideas precisely because they are not limited by what the industry says is possible.

📝 Prompt

This quarter, identify one entry-level role that has been reduced or paused due to AI or automation. Reframe it as an “AI-enhanced” junior role by:

• Defining what AI tools the role will use
• Pairing the new hire with a mentor for context and support
• Tasking them with building or improving one AI workflow in their first 30 days

Start small. But start now. Early talent will grow with your systems, your tools, and your culture.

I keep a close eye on what Future Work Experts are thinking, saying, and questioning. I break down the key conversations and brainstorm practical steps we can take to move forward.

This week:

MINDSET SHIFT

​Sophie Wade: Growth Starts with Curiosity​

• Curiosity-driven mindsets—Growth, Servant-Leadership, and Human-Centric—equip leaders and teams to adapt rapidly, reduce stress, and sustain transformation in highly digitalized, fast-changing environments.
• Data shows 89% of senior leaders see growth mindset as critical for future success, servant-leadership boosts creativity and resilience, and human-centric approaches make organizations 2.6x more likely to succeed in transformation.
• Shift enablers include psychological safety, continuous learning, transparent leadership, and reward systems that model and reinforce curiosity, empathy, and adaptability across all levels.

📝 Prompt: In your next meeting, ask one curiosity-based question that invites your team to explore possibilities rather than confirm assumptions—then listen without steering the answer.

​👉 Read the full article for Sophie Wade’s frameworks, company examples, and practical steps to embed curiosity-led mindsets in your team.​

CULTURE SCALING

​Brian Elliott: Inside Netflix’s Culture Machine​

• Netflix’s farming for dissent practice uses memo-driven forums like Product Strat to surface disagreements before an informed captain makes the final call, enabling rapid and informed decisions.
• Continuous feedback systems, including “Live 360s,” treat criticism as a gift, building accountability and modeling growth through public leader reflections.
• Global expansion balances consistency and local adaptation, with cultural education (e.g., The Culture Map) helping leaders tailor strategies to diverse markets.

📝 Prompt: Before your next major decision, actively seek out one perspective you know will challenge your own—and invite that person to share it in front of the team.

​👉 Read the full article for Brian Elliott’s deep dive into Netflix’s decision-making, feedback culture, and global scaling strategies.​

NEW MANAGER PLAYBOOK

​Chris Dyer: Your First 30 Days, Done Right​

• Week 1–4 plan: Listen Tour (10×15-min 1:1s), set meeting Norms, create a Scoreboard with lead/lag metrics, and implement structured Feedback (3×3 method).
• Daily focus: One power hour, plus end every meeting with a clear commitment and owner.
• No budget required, success relies on behavioral discipline, clarity, and consistent follow-through.

📝 Prompt: If you inherited a team today, start tomorrow by scheduling 10 short 1:1s to ask two questions: what to keep/stop/start, and how you might fail them—then act on what you hear.

​👉 Read the post from Chris Dyer’s 30-day framework to take charge of a new team with confidence and clarity.​

🔥 QUICK HITS:

​(SECURITY HOSPITALITY) Phil Kirschner: When Safety Meets Hospitality​

• Modern security teams face a dual mandate—protect against threats while providing hospitality-level service—made harder by mixed-use environments and permeable boundaries.
• Effective support requires clear guidelines, integrated training (de-escalation + customer service), and metrics that value both safety and brand experience.
• Cross-functional collaboration between real estate, HR, and security vendors ensures guards are empowered as both protectors and ambassadors without resorting to draconian measures.

📝 Prompt: Walk through your building today and ask a security team member what situations are hardest to balance between safety and service, then work with them on one small fix.

​📚 Read the full article for Phil Kirschner’s insights on creating security systems that protect without sacrificing workplace hospitality.​

​(ENGAGEMENT & WELLBEING CRISIS) Josh Bersin: Why Engagement Is Collapsing​

• Engagement crash: Only 21% of workers and 27% of managers are engaged; 66% are “suffering,” andthe  US happiness rank fell from 15th to 24th.
• Causes: AI-driven job fears (86% feel fear at work), loss of flexibility, declining social support, and rising corruption perception; young managers are hit hardest.
• Solutions: Shift from financial-first to human-first, invest in development and recognition, ensure pay fairness, enable role mobility, and practice human-centered leadership.

📝 Prompt: Today, thank three people on your team, specifically naming the impact of their work, and ask one what skill they’d like to develop this quarter.

​📚 Read the full article for Josh Bersin’s research-backed playbook to address the engagement and happiness crisis.​

​(RECIPROCITY & THE FUTURE OF WORK) Jess Von Bank: Why Reciprocity Wins​

• The old work contract—time for pay, fixed roles, top-down control—is collapsing in today’s fluid, skills-driven, multi-stakeholder environment.
• The new value exchange demands mutual benefit: people bring skills, creativity, and adaptability; organizations offer opportunity, flexibility, and purpose. Trust becomes the core operating system.
• Reciprocity is structural, not sentimental: it requires clear give-and-get agreements, willingness to rebalance, and recognition that value is co-created, not extracted.

📝 Prompt: Write down what your organization gives—and gets—from people today. Ask your team to do the same. Compare and discuss where the deal needs to evolve.

​👉 Read Jess Von Bank’s full essay for a candid take on why reciprocity—not perks—will define the future of work.​

I track what’s worth your attention—bringing you the news and updates that matter most to how we work, lead, and grow.

This week:

SUPER-FACILITATOR LEADERSHIP

​Turning Talent into Collective Intelligence​

• Super-facilitators integrate diverse expertise, promote equitable contributions, and build trust, creating collective intelligence—the group’s ability to reason, innovate, and solve problems.
• Research shows team success depends less on individual IQ and more on meta-talent: empathy, equitable turn-taking, and role-crafting that harness each member’s unique strengths.
• Practices like attunement, earned trust, and catalytic questions (as used in Pixar’s Brain Trust) turn teams into high-performing “superorganisms” capable of solving harder problems over time.

📝 Prompt: At your next team session, map the flow of ideas—who starts them, who builds on them, and who is left unheard—then intentionally design moments for every voice to shape the final outcome.

BROKEN LOYALTY

​AT&T CEO Declares Loyalty Dead​

• AT&T CEO John Stankey’s memo ends the “familial” employment deal, rejecting expectations like tenure-based promotions, remote flexibility, and mutual loyalty.
• Signals a broader shift to market-based culture and management by fear, fueled by a white-collar recession and AI-driven downsizing.
• Research shows fear-based leadership erodes creativity, innovation, and retention—especially when companies don’t match employee dedication with equal commitment.

📝 Prompt: Ask your team to share one change—big or small—that would make them feel more valued and supported at work, then commit to acting on at least one within the next month.

SHOWBIZ CAREERS

​Why Work Feels Like Hollywood Now​

• Linear careers are giving way to project-based, portfolio-driven, and reputation-led models—similar to how actors and producers build careers.
• Driven by AI commoditising knowledge work, unpredictable skill needs, and remote-enabled global talent competition.
• Success now relies on constant experimentation, crafting compelling career stories, and building networks as career infrastructure.

📝 Prompt: Identify one high-impact project your team could deliver in the next 3 months that would strengthen your collective reputation in the market, and map how each member’s skills—current or emerging—can be showcased through it.

HR+IT

​HR and IT: Merging Ahead​

• 94% of senior IT leaders expect combined departments in the next digital transformation wave; 64% foresee HR–IT mergers within five years to boost productivity, engagement, and retention.
• Top priorities: automation and AI, IT onboarding/offboarding, digital training, workforce analytics, and digital employee experience (DEX) management.
• Key hurdles: unclear ownership (58%), poor communication (50%), differing priorities (49%); solutions include joint pilots, XLAs, and digital dexterity programs.

📝 Prompt: Imagine your HR and IT teams as one unified function. What would you redesign today to remove friction, amplify employee capability, and prepare your workforce for AI-driven change?

AI LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES

​What Zuckerberg’s AI Vision Means for Leaders​

• Mark Zuckerberg’s AI vision focuses on personal superintelligence, making personalization and empowerment as vital for workplaces as for tech.
• Personalization means systems adapt to individual preferences, workflows, and growth needs, giving a sustained talent edge over one-size-fits-all processes.
• Empowerment requires structural support—clear decision rights, seamless communication, and trust—removing bottlenecks so people can lead from anywhere.

📝 Prompt: If every person on your team had their own AI-powered superintelligence, how would you redesign work to personalize growth, remove bottlenecks, and give them the freedom to lead from anywhere?

🔥 QUICK READ:

• ​Sam Altman’s 24-Hour Pivot:​ OpenAI launched its newest ChatGPT and announced older versions would be retired — then reversed the decision within a day after user backlash. The move sparked debate: was it nimble responsiveness or overreaction to social media? With no hardware recalls or refunds needed, the rollback was more a marketing misstep than a costly failure.
• ​Robots Step In Where Workers Won’t:​ U.S. manufacturers face a stubborn labor gap—many Americans simply don’t want factory jobs. In sectors like solar installation, where 44% of employers struggle to find qualified workers, companies are deploying robots to keep projects on track. Civ Robotics’ surveying systems can place over 1,000 markers a day—triple the human rate—while DHL is investing $744M in warehouse robots and Chinese firms are rolling out humanoid units for heavy-duty tasks.
• ​Caught Between Trump and Putin:​ Amid battlefield setbacks and an anti-corruption backlash that has dropped public trust from 65% to 58%, Zelenskyy is excluded from upcoming Trump–Putin talks over Ukraine’s fate in Alaska. Kyiv fears being forced into territorial concessions barred by its constitution, while US signals waver with suspended weapons and intelligence sharing. European leaders offer diplomatic cover to uphold Ukraine’s red lines: no land cession, full involvement in talks, and security guarantees.