Duolingo’s decision to lay off thousands of human translators and replace them with AI has sparked a heated controversy. Critics argue that this move disregards the value and expertise that human translators bring to the table.
edit: Additional link (posted Jan 8th, 2024) - "About 10% of contractors were “offboarded,” a company spokesperson said Monday. “We just no longer need as many people to do the type of work some of these contractors were doing. Part of that could be attributed to AI,” the spokesperson said.
Chief Executive Officer Luis von Ahn said in a November letter to shareholders that the company is using generative AI — a technology that lets users more quickly create text, speech and images — to produce “new content dramatically faster,” such as the scripts to shows that help teach languages. The company also uses AI to generate voices within the app and has introduced a premium tier, Duolingo Max, with AI-generated feedback and conversations in other languages."
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If you're taking art requests/suggestions, I think wing grooming or them flying together is always really awesome to see ♥️
I wanted to do more but I'm pretty sure I'm on the edge of a creative burn out so I'm taking my time
I have more ideas, just not the energy to execute them so...
Hopefully I'll update this post with more sketches
Reblogs are good for the tumblr ecosystem 🐸
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Ko-fi thank-you sentences for Mango Bat; Billy adopts Conner and it actually goes pretty good!
(( chrono || non-chrono ))
His backpack’s still at the Rock of Eternity. He should go get it, probably.
He’ll just–get it later, he guesses. Later’ll be fine. His stuff’s safe at the Rock of Eternity, and it’s not like he really needs any of it right now. Batman got them so much stuff, and he’s not small enough to fit in any of his usual clothes right now anyway, so . . . so it’s not really important. He doesn’t really own anything important, anyway.
Not anymore, he means.
Obviously.
But–it’s still his stuff, even if he doesn’t need it right now. So . . .
So he doesn’t know, he guesses.
. . . he’ll just get it later.
Billy turns back to Lynn and Tawky and smiles encouragingly at Lynn. Lynn didn't talk to Tawky about the library idea, so Billy's increasingly sure he just doesn't like to talk, but that's still fine, yeah. Like–it's not a big deal or anything, he means.
As long as Lynn actually means what he says, that's all that really matters, Billy figures.
“What do you think, library or alone time?” he asks, trying to sound casual and low-pressure about it. Kids Lynn’s age don’t usually have to make so many decisions all the time, so he wants to make sure it’s not stressful for him. “Or something else?”
“. . . I don’t know,” Lynn says, looking down at Tawky in his lap. “You pick.”
. . . well, that technically is a decision, Billy figures. Like–still counts and all.
“Okay,” he says. “How about we try the library, then? It’s pretty quiet there, usually, and if you want some alone time you can go in one of the reading rooms or something.”
“. . . sure,” Lynn says, and then it occurs to Billy, abruptly–
“Did Cadmus teach you to read?” he asks. Lynn bristles defensively, and Billy represses a wince. Okay, bad question.
“I can read,” Lynn says, tightening his grip on Tawky. “And write. I know things.”
“Okay,” Billy says, still trying not to wince. Man, he didn't mean to ask anything sensitive or anything. “Um–sorry, I just wasn’t sure if they had or not. Like, if you were gonna want me to read to you or if I had to teach you or–um. Sorry.”
Lynn . . . blinks. Looks–odd, briefly.
“. . . you would’ve done that?” he asks, and sounds odd too.
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