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🧠 AI Is Coming for the Middle — Are You Ready?

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Chris Dessi
April 30, 2025

It’s Wednesday, April 30th, 2025 - and you know what that means:

Sorry, had to do it…

Two major moves this week have made it crystal clear: AI is not a side hustle for tech giants anymore. It’s the main event.

From Duolingo shifting to an “AI-first” workforce to Meta launching a standalone AI app to rival ChatGPT, the message is loud and clear—adapting to AI isn’t optional; it’s survival.

Let’s break it down. But first—if you're in the New York Tri-state area, tune in live today at 3 PM on Fox 5 NY. I'll be sharing insights on how AI is reshaping our world—what's exciting, what's challenging, and what every business and individual needs to know as we move into this next era.

Ok..here we go….

Duolingo Just Fired the First Shot

Duolingo’s CEO Luis von Ahn just announced that the language-learning giant will phase out contractors in favor of AI.

Let me say that again—they’re replacing people with AI.

But not to be ruthless—actually, to be strategic. Here's how it breaks down:

  • Contractors? Gone (if AI can do the job).

  • New hires? Only if the job can’t be automated.

  • Performance reviews? Will now measure your AI literacy.

  • Human workers? Still crucial—but only for work AI can’t do.

This isn’t about wiping out jobs—it’s about elevating human creativity by offloading the repetitive stuff. And Duolingo isn’t alone.

Uber, Shopify, and now Duolingo are all making bold moves to restructure their businesses around AI.

Sound familiar? That’s exactly what we’re doing with Torque AI—giving small business owners enterprise-level automation and insights without the overhead.

Meta’s ChatGPT Killer: Meet Meta AI

Meanwhile, over in Zuckerberg land, Meta just dropped a bombshell: Meta AI, a standalone AI assistant app designed to compete with ChatGPT.

Here’s what makes it different:

  • A â€śDiscover” feed where users can like, remix, and share AI-generated content.

  • Full voice interaction with natural conversation flow.

  • Integration with Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses (yes, really). I HATE these things. Sorry, not sorry.

  • Supercharged personalization via Facebook and Instagram data.

And the kicker? It’s powered by LLaMA 4, Meta’s latest open-source language model. That means devs can customize it, giving Meta a flexibility edge against more closed systems like ChatGPT or Gemini.

This isn’t just about cool features. This is about Meta staking its claim in the future of how we interact with information, ideas, and each other.

So, What Does This Mean for You?

Here’s the hard truth, friends: AI isn’t coming for low-skilled labor. It’s coming for the middle.

That means marketers, consultants, writers, sales reps, and support teams—everyone in knowledge work who isn’t actively learning and leveraging AI—are at risk of being outpaced, outsourced, or made obsolete.

But here’s the opportunity:

If you’re a small business owner, you can punch way above your weight using AI right now. With Torque AI, you don’t need a full marketing department. You don’t need to hire a strategist, writer, analyst, and automation expert.

You’ve got it all in one platform.

We’ve built Torque AI to give you:

  • AI-powered lead capture & follow-up

  • Smart SEO & reputation management

  • Automated social content

  • Real-time performance analytics

  • And yes—even your own AI chatbot

The big guys are doubling down on AI. Why shouldn’t you?

Final Word

Duolingo just showed us where we’re headed. Meta just showed us how fast it’s coming.

Torque AI was built so small businesses like yours don’t get left behind.

You can either ride the wave—or get wiped out by it.

Let me help you ride it.

Keep up the good work,

Chris Dessi

Founder, Torque AI

PS

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