Shares of Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) plummeted 5.03% during the intraday trading session on Tuesday, as the language-learning company's increasing reliance on AI automation raised concerns among investors.

According to reports, Duolingo previously relied on a team of contractors to support its mobile application by creating sentences for courses, producing lists of acceptable translations, and reviewing user error reports. However, last year the company announced that it was laying off 10% of these contractors and instead relying on AI to perform these tasks.

This move towards AI automation has sparked worries among investors about the potential impact on Duolingo's product quality and user experience. While the company likely aims to reduce labor costs and boost efficiency through AI integration, there are concerns that the technology may not be able to match the quality of human input, at least in the near term.