人工智能正在加速渗透语言学习领域，谷歌和多邻国在本周发布了相关重大进展。谷歌推出了由Gemini驱动的全新AI语言学习工具，名为“小小语言课程”，提供个性化互动课程。与此同时，多邻国宣布将更多地依赖AI，并利用生成式AI开发了148门新课程，使其课程总数翻倍。然而，这一转变也引发了社交媒体上的一些争议，部分用户表达了对AI在语言学习中作用的担忧。

💡 谷歌推出了“小小语言课程”，该实验性功能包含三个互动课程，旨在个性化语言学习体验。例如，“小小课程”帮助学习特定情境下的短语，如遗失护照时的表达；“俚语天地”帮助用户学习当地俚语，使对话更轻松；“单词相机”则允许Gemini识别照片中的物体，并用所学语言进行标注。

🚀 多邻国宣布将更多地依靠AI，减少对人工合同工的依赖，并计划在招聘和绩效评估中使用AI。此外，多邻国利用生成式AI开发了148门新语言学习课程，使其课程数量翻倍。

🗣️ 社交媒体上对这些进展出现了一些负面反馈，用户表达了对AI在语言学习中作用的担忧。有人呼吁删除多邻国应用，反映了对AI过度依赖的担忧。

🤝 谷歌强调其AI工具旨在补充而非取代传统的学习方式。谷歌表示，这些实验是为了帮助人们养成习惯，保持参与度，并将学习融入日常生活。

AI continues to expand its reach into our lives, and language learning is next on the list.

This week brought big developments from both Google and Duolingo on that front. On Google's end, the search giant launched new Gemini-powered AI tools for users to learn foreign languages. Dubbed Little Language Lessons, the experimental feature offers three interactive lessons that "personalize language learning." For instance, "Tiny Lesson" can help you learn phrases for specific situations (such as losing your passport), while "Slang Hang" helps users learn local slang for less-stuffy conversation. Finally, "Word Cam" lets Gemini look at objects in your photos and labels them in the language you're learning.

Duolingo, on the other hand, is going full speed ahead with generative AI. The company announced this week that it would stop relying on human contractors for "work that AI can handle," while also committing to using AI in hiring and performance reviews. On top of that, Duolingo announced on Wednesday that it used generative AI to come up with 148 new language learning courses, doubling its total course offerings.

The large language models behind Google Gemini and other popular AI tools have proved particularly adept at translation. Duolingo certainly believes the technology has big potential for language learning.

Of course, you don't have to look far to find people on social media responding negatively to the news. On X, some users are asking their peers to delete the app for going all-in on AI language learning.

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Learning another language is an inherently social activity, something a person usually does if they want to interact with other humans on a deeper level. Practically speaking, language learning usually requires human-to-human engagement.

For its part, Google says it's not trying to replace human instruction.

A Google blog post reads, "These experiments aren’t about replacing traditional study, but about complementing it: helping people build habits, stay engaged, and weave learning into their everyday lives."