Duolingo Will Teach You to Play Chess - DTNSB 5003  ## Metadata - Author: [[Daily Tech News Show]] - Full Title: Duolingo Will Teach You to Play Chess - DTNSB 5003 - Category: #podcasts - URL: https://share.snipd.com/episode/ba04424d-7b31-4119-9a07-bb61860817af ## Document Notes ## Highlights - **Duolingo's Chess Course Strategy** - Duolingo's new chess course targets beginners and intermediate players with gamified lessons and interactive puzzles. - It aims to fill a market gap where existing chess tools focus mostly on advanced users. Transcript: Tom Merritt Yes, Duolingo is launching a new chess course that's designed to make learning the game accessible for everyone. Yes, beginners included. The course uses Duolingo's signature gamified bite-sized lesson approach and includes interactive chess puzzles to teach the basics and strategies of chess. Now, users can also play short mini matches or full games against the virtual coach, which is a character named Oscar inside the app. Duolingo is aiming to fill a gap in the market by catering to new and intermediate players. Many of the existing tools that are around chess, getting better at chess, really target more advanced users. So this is really meant to isolate the people who really just want to learn how to play and how to become a little bit better than maybe they are right now. The course will launch in beta on iOS in English, plans to expand to more users in around four to six weeks. So that'll open up. And then the feature will expand to Android devices. I'm sad a little bit. And ([Time 0:02:47](https://share.snipd.com/snip/c7292489-f1ff-4925-a711-18d9607805b7)) - **Potential Combined Learning Approach** - Duolingo's non-language courses may eventually integrate language learning, such as combining chess lessons with learning Russian. - This could enhance learning by teaching multiple skills simultaneously. Transcript: Tom Merritt Into that as well, kind of like a combined thing? And I don't know how you do that creatively and effectively, but it might be interesting to be like, yeah, I'm learning how to play chess but i'm also kind of learning how to play chess You know through a tutorial that's in this language that i'm learning i don't know oh yeah like you're learning russian and then you you learn chess and russian yes combined that's really Jason Howell That that makes a lot of sense to me yeah yeah no that's really interesting um yeah i wonder if they've thought of that already but that's a really good idea that they should i mean it certainly Tom Merritt Complicates things a little bit further to be like well now you're not just learning the rules of the game but you might have more to you know invested in learning that chess game if you're Also kind of learning the basics of the Russian language as far as that's concerned. Jason Howell Well, certainly they're launching this in English now, but they plan to expand it to other languages, which they have the database for languages. For sure they should be able to do that. And I guess you could just DIY it and say like, okay, I would like to learn chess in Russian and then push yourself. But if they did it on purpose, then yeah, they could sort of guide you along. One thing I liked in this announcement was that they said that they will allow you to kind of enter in at your level. So like you said, it's new and intermediate players, but if you're intermediate, you don't have to just grind through the new levels. They can place you, so to speak. Although I'm curious how that placement works. If it's self-reported, that's fine. But what I would like these tools to do, and with generative models out there, I feel like they can do it, is to kind of test you and ask you questions and then kind of proceed at the pace that You learn. That is one thing that Duolingo does not do yet in its languages very well. They have some kind of ways of doing it, but to say like, hey, let's adapt the lessons you're getting to how you're learning, give you more of the things you're having trouble with, give You less of the things that you're mastering right away. They have added some things where they will kind of try to strengthen your vocabulary with lessons, which I find extremely helpful. And every once in a while, it'll go like, hey, you're doing really well. You want to skip this lesson and just go on to the next one? But those are very basic. I'm imagining something a lot more tailored in the future. And anyway, having the chess app kind of bring you in at your level made me think, oh, that'd be nice if they did that across the board too. Tom Merritt And embedded inside of the app that ([Time 0:06:16](https://share.snipd.com/snip/965610d4-89d7-4e49-9cb5-bde64f92407f)) - **Adaptive Learning Placement Needed** - Duolingo plans to place chess learners at their skill level to avoid repeating basics unnecessarily. - Adaptive learning through testing could optimize progress, focusing on user's weaknesses and strengths. Transcript: Jason Howell And then push yourself. But if they did it on purpose, then yeah, they could sort of guide you along. One thing I liked in this announcement was that they said that they will allow you to kind of enter in at your level. So like you said, it's new and intermediate players, but if you're intermediate, you don't have to just grind through the new levels. They can place you, so to speak. Although I'm curious how that placement works. If it's self-reported, that's fine. But what I would like these tools to do, and with generative models out there, I feel like they can do it, is to kind of test you and ask you questions and then kind of proceed at the pace that You learn. That is one thing that Duolingo does not do yet in its languages very well. They have some kind of ways of doing it, but to say like, hey, let's adapt the lessons you're getting to how you're learning, give you more of the things you're having trouble with, give You less of the things that you're mastering right away. They have added some things where they will kind of try to strengthen your vocabulary with lessons, which I find extremely helpful. And every once in a while, it'll go like, hey, you're doing really well. You want to skip this lesson and just go on to the next one? But those are very basic. I'm imagining something a lot more tailored in the future. And anyway, having the chess app kind of bring you in at your level made me think, oh, that'd be nice if they did that across the board too. And ([Time 0:07:23](https://share.snipd.com/snip/62376ae8-7e8c-493a-bdbf-c5f88095c850)) - **Google Ending Exclusive Deals** - Google's exclusive contracts with companies like Samsung are now non-exclusive, showing the impact of antitrust pressure. - These changes are used by the DOJ to argue for permanent remedies in the case against Google. Transcript: Bodie Grimm To find your next pair of glasses, sunglasses, or contact lenses, or to find the Warby Parker store nearest you, head over to warbyparker.com. That's warbyparker.com. Jason Howell All right, there's more we need to know today. Let's get to the briefs. The remedy phase of the Google antitrust case over search advertising is underway. And some new tidbits are coming out in the testimony. I'll get to those in a second. But just to remind those who haven't been following this super closely, the remedy phase is where the U.S. And Google each try to persuade Judge Mehta. Also, just side note, the guy overseeing it is named Meta. It's M-E but I just find that constantly amusing. Anyway, they're each going to try to persuade Judge Meta what should be done in response to Google's abuse of its dominant position in search text advertising. And keep in mind that whatever the judge decides, Google's going to appeal it. ([Time 0:13:09](https://share.snipd.com/snip/b49eee42-2f13-4e6b-97ee-749e0ebfb400)) - **NIO's Premium Compact EV** - NIO's Firefly car offers a compact premium EV with a 260-mile range and battery swap capability. - Initially for China and Europe, it's expensive for China but targets the European market specifically. Transcript: Tom Merritt Bodhi, you're an old favorite of ours. Thanks for coming back. Thank you. Jason Howell It's always fun to talk about what's out there, and I think that's real useful, but it's also even more fun sometimes to talk about what's coming. Let's start with NIO. NIO is a company that I have followed for quite a long time. What have they got in the pipeline for us? Bodie Grimm So they have a new sub-brand called Firefly. And depending on the time this is released, this may not be a EV coming soon. This is might be an EV recently released a kind of a situation. But the Firefly brand was announced late in 2024. In terms of size, it competes with the mini or the smart car. It has a 42 kilowatt hour battery with a range of 420 kilometers or 260 miles. Again, let's all assume that when this goes to a different market, those numbers might change. Jason Howell Okay, gotcha. Bodie Grimm But yeah, NIO is saying this is a premium car and I'll tell you why. Because this car is only going to be released in China, but it's kind of expensive for China. So this vehicle has a frunk, it's a five-seater. It's rear-wheel drive. It's compatible with NIO's battery swap stations, which I think that is my favorite part of the car. It's not expected to come to the US, but it will be available in markets outside of China like Europe. As a matter of fact, it kind of seems like this was built specifically for the European market. Like I said, April 19th is when it's going to come out in china but we're looking at 21 000 which is very expensive in in china yeah and then it would likely sell for more outside of china That's usually the way this goes but probably not a lot more right yeah it because it you there's a cost to shipping it, but also there's tariffs or duties in Europe. So I don't know exactly how much that would actually end up being, but it's definitely going to be more. Jason Howell Well, the next one is good news ([Time 0:26:35](https://share.snipd.com/snip/c08a4f7e-209e-4dc5-a69c-6a9307bfecbf)) - **Chevy Bolt's Platform Upgrade** - The new Chevy Bolt will use GM's Ultium platform and is expected to be priced under $30,000. - This marks a significant update for Chevy's most popular EV model. Transcript: Bodie Grimm This is, again, this is another brand and vehicle that people just love, and that is the Chevy Bolt. So Chevy had a huge hit with the Chevy Bolt. When the Bolt was actually being sold, it just dwarfed any other EV that GM sold. They sold 70, 80,000 of these, whereas they were selling in the tens of thousands of the, you know, low tens of thousands of the other vehicles combined, you know, this, so the Chevy Bolt Really kind of bolstered GM's EV proposition. Problem was a lot of it was built on LG technology with some Chevy stuff bolted on, bolted on. I didn't even mean to do that, but the new Chevy Bolt will be based on GM's Ultium platform, which by the way, GM dropped the Ultium name and didn't give it a new one. Jason Howell No, they didn't call it anything. But it's the same stuff. Bodie Grimm It's the same thing. Okay. But anyway, they didn't give us, like, we don't have specs at this time, but it's supposed to be coming out soon. So I would imagine we would see the announcement here in the next couple of months. But based on what they did with the Equinox EV, I think this is going to be well-equipped. As far as price goes, I have to guess that it's going to be south of $30,000 just because the Equinox is at $35,000. But it's a car I'm excited about. Jason Howell All right. These first two are cars as ([Time 0:28:41](https://share.snipd.com/snip/210cec64-7b42-4a5e-bf1e-92e4748e7505)) - **Aptera's Unique Solar EV** - Aptera is a three-wheeled, two-seater EV shaped like a wingless airplane with integrated solar panels. - It claims up to 400 miles range, and a recent test trip covered 343 miles on a single charge benefiting from elevation changes. Transcript: Bodie Grimm So Tom, I know I've brought up Aptera to you in the past. Do you have a picture in your mind? Yeah. Could you describe what you think that looks like or what it looks like in your mind? Jason Howell Like kind of a really big Cushman with wings. Bodie Grimm What is a Cushman? Jason Howell It's the little carts that people drive around. Okay. Bodie Grimm Yeah, this is the Aptera to me looks like a fuel solage for an airplane. Jason Howell Okay. Yeah, that's probably closer to the truth. Bodie Grimm And Aptera, it's a three-wheeled vehicle, two in the front, one in the back, two-seater. It, like I said, looks like an airplane without wings, but Ap in greek actually means wingless flight so yeah uh this car at the top of the car you'll find 700 watts of integrated solar Panels that will generate around 40 miles of range per day depending on you know you got to have optimal conditions to get that Aptera claims on a full charge, the vehicle has a range of 400 miles. Again, this is a pre-released vehicle. So let's be hopeful of those numbers. Jason Howell It won't go over 400 miles in range. We can say for sure. Bodie Grimm For sure. And I found this to be very funny when I was writing this up this morning. But recently, Aptera, like back in March, took one of their vehicles, one of their test vehicles to Flagstaff, Arizona, and they drove to the Imperial Valley of California on a single Charge, which is great. That's about 343 miles, five-hour trip. Jason Howell Yeah, it's not a short drive. I've made that drive. Bodie Grimm Yeah, it's fantastic. The thing is, is I was like, Flagstaff has a really high elevation. What is the elevation of Imperial Valley? So Flagstaff is 7,000 feet. Imperial Valley, I didn't even know this, is 230 feet below sea level. So there's a thing in EVs where you're going downhill and you take your foot off the accelerator where you're regenerating and you're putting power back into the battery. Jason Howell You still have to go back up sometimes on that drive, but net overall, you're going downhill. That's a good, really good point. Bodie Grimm Yeah. Like 7,230 feet. So, um, I think it's a bit of a cheat, but it's a cool car in any case. Um, I really like ([Time 0:30:14](https://share.snipd.com/snip/2b1295a0-7f19-479f-b9ab-1028913391c0)) - **Telo's Compact EV Pickup Truck** - Telo's MT1 is a compact EV pickup inspired by Japanese K trucks with surprising interior space. - It starts at $41,000 with 260 miles range and 350 miles for the dual motor version, launching in early 2026. Transcript: Bodie Grimm Yeah, so Telo trucks, they modeled their MT1 pickup truck off of the Japanese K trucks, which are small and efficient, like you said. And the cool thing about this truck, Tom, there's lots of cool things. The coolest thing is it's it's about as long as a mini cooper okay but it has the interior space of a toyota tacoma that's like a tardis how do they do that well it's a really good question Uh the bed of the truck is five feet long but if you need to put in like a four by eight sheet of plywood for instance there's a mid gate and the back seat folds down and that expands it out so You lose two seats when you do that but you gain plywood it also has a pass-through cargo space in the bed of the truck which is similar to what rivian the r1t does and uh tello says this truck Is going to start at around 41 000 for the single motor version. And that'll get you 260 miles of range. But if you're looking at maxing it out without the accessories, because you can go wild on the accessories. But if you're looking at maxing it out, you're looking at about $50,000 for dual motor, bigger battery. Telo says 350 miles of range, again, an estimate. And that's expected out early 2026. Jason Howell All right. These are great things ([Time 0:33:11](https://share.snipd.com/snip/6662ba9e-e9e9-423c-a57f-30c1e33e2bb9))