RT Nick Szabo (@NickSzabo4)@antonseim @McCoffee777 @EvelinaHahne Yes. Out of dozens of living European languages, Basque is the only one that is of unknown origin rather than of known origin in central Eurasia, far from western Europe. ...

RT Nick Szabo (@NickSzabo4)@antonseim @McCoffee777 @EvelinaHahne Yes. Out of dozens of living European languages, Basque is the only one that is of unknown origin rather than of known origin in central Eurasia, far from western Europe. ...

Learn other languages with Grok CompanionsDogeDesigner (@cb_doge):Mika speaks many languages and can teach you how to speak almost any language too.Learn new languages the super easy way, with Grok Companions. https://t.co/1u7R2GLs8K ...

AI Strategy & Vision - Duolingo's CEO issued a memo four months prior calling for the company to become "AI first," halting contractor use for tasks AI could handle and limiting headcount increases to situations where automation is impossible [1] - The company views AI, particularly after the emergence of GD4, as a massive opportunity to provide education as effective as one-on-one human tutoring but at a much lower cost [4][6] - Duolingo aims to build new products that were previously impossible before AI, drawing an analogy to Uber's reliance on smartphone technology [11][12][13] - The company defines "AI first" as leveraging AI to teach better, rather than solely focusing on productivity gains or using AI tools for their own sake [10] AI Implementation & Adoption - Duolingo is most excited about its "video call with Lily" feature, which aims to provide conversation practice and was not feasible before AI [14][15] - To encourage internal adoption of AI tools, Duolingo measured tool adoption, dedicated "AI Fridays" for exploration, and held mandatory training sessions, resulting in 100% adoption of tools like Cursor and GitHub Copilot [17][18][19] Measuring Productivity & ROI - Duolingo acknowledges the difficulty in directly measuring software engineer productivity, using metrics like the number of experiments launched as proxies [26][27][29] - The company recognizes that coding is not always the bottleneck, so a 30% increase in coding speed due to AI does not translate to a 30% overall productivity boost [27][28] Future Development & Challenges - Duolingo expanded its course offerings by launching over 100 courses this year, thanks to AI, which would have previously taken decades or centuries [33] - The company emphasizes the importance of engagement and motivation in language learning, as learners often give up, and aims to build AI-powered features that are both effective and engaging [36][37] - Duolingo believes that the generation coming out of school is the first AI-first generation, and the company is hiring more of these people [42]

Language Endangerment & Loss - The industry acknowledges that approximately 1,500 of the world's rare or endangered languages could face extinction by the end of this century [3] - Linguists estimate that half of the world's 7,000 languages could become rare, endangered, or extinct by the year 2100 [3] - Language loss leads to the disappearance of distinct words, traditions, and cultures associated with those languages [4] - Historically, languages die out naturally over time or through replacement by other languages [4] Causes of Language Death - Language replacement occurs when a larger language takes over a smaller one, as seen with Aramaic being replaced by Arabic [7][9] - The decline of the Chagatai language was due to its complexity and the rise of Russian and Uzbek languages [6] - Assimilation pressures, such as immigrants not teaching their children their native language, contribute to language loss [14] Preservation Efforts - Initiatives like Duolingo and Wiki Tongues are making efforts to create databases and courses for endangered languages [15] - Countries such as the US, China, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia are implementing programs to preserve their endangered languages [16] - The Esther Martinez Native American Languages Act in the US supports the teaching of native languages to preserve native cultures and traditions [17]