Cem Kansu is Chief Product Officer at Duolingo. He is describing how instant AI prototyping invalidates traditional middle-layer product management documentation.
0:00 / 0:19exact quote · 19.8s
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“Specs, like, you know, companies write product specs that like go from someone's idea that turns into a product spec, and then that goes into design, that goes into engineering. This process is like dead. Like, why would you write specs if you can go from your idea To an exact prototype. So this whole middle assembly line of creating product is a dead process.”
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More from Cem Kansu
Opinion
Kansu: Calling a product manager a "mini CEO" is the worst definition
“Product managers are sometimes viewed as these like, I'm the mini CEO. I decide strategy and then people execute. That is like the worst definition of a product manager that I've ever heard.”
Cem KansuJun 20, 2025▶ 6:4120Product: How Duolingo Build Product 10x Faster with AI | Duolingo's Biggest Lessons on Paywalls, Push Notifications and In-App Purchases | Why Small Teams are the Future of Product | Why PMs Will Become Extinct with Cem Kansu, CPO @ Duolingo
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Kansu: Current AI coding tools only boost developer productivity by 10-20%
“I think my read right now is more of the latter. And also the magnitude of multiplication is way lower than like 10 X-ing things. I think it's maybe in the realm of like 10 to 20% more productivity, Of an average engineering capacity.”
Cem KansuJun 20, 2025▶ 22:2420Product: How Duolingo Build Product 10x Faster with AI | Duolingo's Biggest Lessons on Paywalls, Push Notifications and In-App Purchases | Why Small Teams are the Future of Product | Why PMs Will Become Extinct with Cem Kansu, CPO @ Duolingo
Opinion
Kansu: Products in the edtech space are all boring
“The reason we don't fit into education very much is if you look at the education space, honestly, this is a bit of a hot take, but it's all boring ass products.”
Cem KansuJun 20, 2025▶ 46:0420Product: How Duolingo Build Product 10x Faster with AI | Duolingo's Biggest Lessons on Paywalls, Push Notifications and In-App Purchases | Why Small Teams are the Future of Product | Why PMs Will Become Extinct with Cem Kansu, CPO @ Duolingo
PredictionNot checkable as stated
Kansu: AI tools will cause engineering, product, and design roles to converge
“I think what is likely to happen is there is clear work definitions of what an engineer does today, what a product manager does, and what a designer does. I think these are going to converge way more than what's happening today in technology organizations.”
Cem KansuJun 20, 2025▶ 16:1420Product: How Duolingo Build Product 10x Faster with AI | Duolingo's Biggest Lessons on Paywalls, Push Notifications and In-App Purchases | Why Small Teams are the Future of Product | Why PMs Will Become Extinct with Cem Kansu, CPO @ Duolingo
Insight
Kansu: Freemium models create more defensible consumer app businesses than premium-only
“If you want to build a large business, it's way more defensible to build a great free user experience and do it freemium rather than full premium.”
Cem KansuJun 20, 2025▶ 36:5320Product: How Duolingo Build Product 10x Faster with AI | Duolingo's Biggest Lessons on Paywalls, Push Notifications and In-App Purchases | Why Small Teams are the Future of Product | Why PMs Will Become Extinct with Cem Kansu, CPO @ Duolingo
Insight
Kansu: AI conversation features outperform human tutoring by eliminating user embarrassment
“AI is way better for this, because you can stumble, you can talk shitty Spanish, you're not embarrassed. A lot of users found it embarrassing to stumble when there's a human looking at them on video.”
Cem KansuJun 20, 2025▶ 1:06:2620Product: How Duolingo Build Product 10x Faster with AI | Duolingo's Biggest Lessons on Paywalls, Push Notifications and In-App Purchases | Why Small Teams are the Future of Product | Why PMs Will Become Extinct with Cem Kansu, CPO @ Duolingo
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