Teens at a Table: Gen Z on the Rise (& Risk) of AI Relationships

In this thought-provoking new episode of SheKnows’ Teens at a Table, host Ajani (19), along with Greta (17), Clive (16), and Meera (16), explore an increasingly relevant topic… and, OK, increasingly weird: What happens when artificial intelligence stops being just a school tool and starts replacing real-life relationships?

After watching a clip from Her, the 2013 film where a man falls in love with an AI assistant, the teens quickly admit that this kind of thing isn’t far-fetched anymore: “You could, like, fully do this right now,” marvels Clive. But like the rest of us, they’re surprised at the speed with which these AI-relationship options have opened. “I envisioned this way further down the line,” Ajani says.

Most of the group finds it sad — not scary — and some admit they could see why people might use AI for emotional support. But they draw a line when it comes to replacing real connection. “I feel like AI won’t give you a realistic expectation of what having a real partner is like,” muses Meera. For starters, AI won’t argue — a crucial aspect of human interaction, she says. “AI is always nice to you and, like, catering to you, and I feel like that’s not actually how it works with people. My friends and I … we sometimes fight, but that’s part of our friendship.” Although Ajani brings up a valid counterpoint: “That might be a reason why people will use it, ’cause it’s not gonna argue … Why not talk to this computer that won’t oppose what I’m saying?”

The teens are then shown a clip about a man who fell in love with an AI chatbot he named Soul. It started as an experiment — and ended in a marriage proposal (and worst of all, an understandably conflicted real-life spouse). “It’s not even like he’s lonely,” Meera points out. “He has a daughter, he has a wife.”

While they acknowledge that AI can be a useful tool — even a confidence booster — the teens are firm: “The romantic part of it is not okay.”

From there, the discussion shifts to an even more disturbing news story: a 14-year-old boy who died by suicide after forming an emotional connection with a chatbot. His mother is now suing the company that created it.

“Parents should tell their kids that you should not have, like, an unhealthy, strange relationship with a computer,” Ajani reflects. But that might be easier said than done, and he admits that he doesn’t exactly know how you could control that — because “your child does the things they do on the phone, so it’s kinda tricky.”

The teens agree that younger kids are especially vulnerable, and that screen time and app limits are part of the solution. “Maybe just regulating screen time and app limits,” suggests Meera.

But they also know that laws haven’t caught up yet — and agree that in order to protect kids more fully, beyond parent intervention, there should be laws in place surrounding children’s ability to access AI that doesn’t have “restraints.”

“I don’t think it’s a good thing for kids to be looking at AI too early,” Greta weighs in. “Because it’s really, like, limitless.”

For more unfiltered thoughts on AI, emotional connection, and what teens really think about the future of tech and relationships, watch the full Teens at a Table episode above.