| Summary: | As a global leader in the language learning market, Duolingo pursues a development strategy centered upon artificial intelligence. This technology is supposed to enable it to reach a critical mass of users. The Nasdaq-quoted company exposes its strategy to investors through a flywheel metaphor, in which data analytics must maximize educational efficacy as well as user engagement. This article proposes to identify the role of AI in the firm’s strategy, between an organical growth lever and a financial speculation argument. Our methodology consists in deconstructing the promises made in each inferences of the flywheels, by analyzing the algorithms developed by the company and its financial results. This article highlights the contribution of AI in a process of “engagement industrialization”, which locates Duolingo on the forefront of the convergence between educational and cultural industries.
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