AI and human connection are becoming increasingly important parts of growing up in a digital world. AI can answer questions, help with homework, write stories, suggest ideas, and even hold a conversation when someone feels like talking. But can it really be a friend?

For young people growing up alongside increasingly sophisticated technology, that question is becoming more relevant every day.

Artificial intelligence is no longer something children encounter only in science fiction or technology classrooms. Young people are using AI tools to search for information, complete schoolwork, create content, explore interests, and, increasingly, have conversations.

According to Pew Research Center’s 2026 research, 57% of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 have used chatbots to search for information, while 54% have used them for help with schoolwork. More importantly for parents, educators, and mentors, 16% say they have used chatbots for casual conversation and 12% say they have used them for emotional support or advice.

That doesn’t mean young people are replacing their friends or families with AI.

But it does tell us something important.

AI is becoming part of how young people communicate, learn, explore problems, and sometimes seek support.

So where does that leave human connection?

The answer isn’t to tell young people to reject technology. AI can be useful, creative, educational, and engaging. Instead, we need to help young people understand what technology can provide and what it cannot replace.

Because an AI system can respond to a young person’s words.

A caring adult can understand the person behind those words.

AI and Human Connection: Why AI Can Feel Like a Friend

It’s easy to understand why young people might enjoy talking to AI.

• It is available almost instantly.
• It doesn’t appear impatient.
• It can respond to the same question repeatedly.
• It can remember the context of a conversation in some settings.

And perhaps most importantly, it doesn’t create the same social pressure as talking to another person.

A young person who feels embarrassed about a question may feel more comfortable asking an AI first.

Someone who doesn’t know how to start a difficult conversation may find it easier to type their thoughts into a chatbot.

For a young person who feels lonely, an AI companion can provide something that feels like company.

Research from Common Sense Media has found that AI companions are already part of many teenagers’ digital lives, with young people using them for entertainment, conversation, advice, and emotional support.

That accessibility matters.

However, accessibility isn’t the same thing as relationship.

An AI can simulate conversation.

A human being can participate in a relationship.

That distinction becomes especially important during childhood and adolescence, when young people are learning how to communicate, manage emotions, resolve disagreements, understand other people’s perspectives, and build trust.

Why AI and Human Connection Are Different

The growing conversation around AI and human connection isn’t really about choosing one over the other. Understanding the difference between technology and human connection is especially important during childhood and adolescence.

• They can ask follow-up questions.
• They can acknowledge feelings.
• They can offer suggestions.
• They can respond in a friendly tone.

That can make the interaction feel meaningful.

But a young person’s development doesn’t happen through words alone.

• A mentor notices when a child who normally talks enthusiastically suddenly becomes quiet.
• A teacher may notice that a student who usually participates has stopped raising their hand.
• A coach may recognize when a young person is frustrated even though they say everything is fine.
• A trusted adult remembers what happened last week and asks about it again.

Those details matter because relationships are built through shared experiences over time.

• A chatbot can respond to what a young person tells it.
• A caring adult can notice what the young person doesn’t say.

The Difference Between Being Heard and Being Known

There’s an important difference between being heard and being known. The future of AI and human connection will depend on how well we help young people use technology without losing meaningful relationships.

An AI can respond to a message such as:

“I had a terrible day at school.”

• It might ask what happened.
• It might suggest ways to deal with stress.
• It might offer encouraging words.

That can be useful.

But a mentor might respond:

“You mentioned that presentation last week. Did something happen with that?”

That question carries something different.

• It shows memory.
• It shows attention.
• It shows that the relationship exists beyond the current conversation.

Over time, these small moments communicate something powerful:

• I know you.
• I remember you.
• I care about what happens to you.

That kind of connection cannot be reduced to an answer generated in a chat window.

Why Human Connection Matters During Childhood

Children and teenagers don’t simply need information.

They need relationships.

They need opportunities to practice communication, experience encouragement, deal with disappointment, understand boundaries, collaborate with others, and learn that relationships can survive difficult moments.

Research from Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child emphasizes the importance of stable and committed relationships with supportive adults. These relationships can help children develop resilience and provide a foundation for responding to adversity and navigating challenges.

That is one reason mentoring can be so powerful.

A mentor isn’t simply someone who gives advice.

A mentor becomes part of a young person’s real-world support system.

• They can share experiences.
• They can encourage effort.
• They can celebrate progress.
• They can challenge assumptions.
• They can introduce new opportunities.
• They can listen when things aren’t going well.
• They can keep showing up.

AI Can Give an Answer. A Mentor Can Help a Young Person Find Their Own Answer.

One of the most valuable things a mentor can do is resist the temptation to immediately solve every problem.

Imagine a young person saying:

“I’m terrible at this. I don’t think I can do it.”

An AI might provide encouragement and suggest strategies.

A mentor might ask:

“What makes you think you can’t do it?”

Then:

“What’s one part of it you think you could try?”

And perhaps:

“Remember what happened the last time you thought you couldn’t do something?”

That conversation does more than provide information.

• It helps a young person think.
• It creates an opportunity for reflection.
• It builds confidence.
• It teaches problem-solving.

Most importantly, it allows the young person to participate in finding the answer.

That is a different kind of support.

AI Isn’t the Enemy. But It Shouldn’t Become a Substitute for Relationships.

It is important not to turn this conversation into an argument that technology is bad.

AI can be incredibly useful for young people.

• It can help explain difficult concepts.
• It can provide brainstorming support.
• It can help students practice writing.
• It can introduce young people to new ideas.
• It can make information more accessible.
• It can even help someone organize thoughts before having a difficult conversation with another person.

The challenge begins when convenience starts replacing connection.

If a young person always turns to AI instead of talking to a parent, teacher, mentor, counselor, or friend, they may lose opportunities to practice the very social and emotional skills they need to develop.

This is particularly important because AI systems can sound confident even when their responses are incomplete, inappropriate, or wrong. Research and child-safety organizations continue to raise concerns about using general-purpose AI systems for sensitive emotional or mental health support.

The goal, therefore, shouldn’t be:

AI or humans?

It should be:

How can young people use AI while continuing to build strong human relationships?

What Young People Need From Adults in an AI World

The role of adults is changing.

Parents, teachers, coaches, and mentors don’t necessarily need to know every new AI tool.

They do need to be willing to talk about how young people are using technology.

A mentor might ask:

“What do you use AI for?”

“Have you ever asked it something you were uncomfortable asking another person?”

“What do you think AI is good at?”

“What do you think it isn’t good at?”

“How do you know when you should ask a real person instead?”

These conversations don’t need to become lectures.

In fact, they work better when they are curious rather than judgmental.

Young people are more likely to share their experiences when they feel that adults are trying to understand them rather than simply control them.

Five Things a Mentor Can Offer That AI Can’t

AI will continue to become more sophisticated. It may become better at remembering context, recognizing emotions, and having natural conversations.

Even so, there are qualities of human relationships that remain fundamentally different.

1. Shared experiences

A mentor can play a game with a young person, attend an event, work on a project, or simply walk and talk together.

Those shared experiences create memories.

2. Real-world encouragement

A mentor can notice effort in real time.

They can see a young person trying something difficult and say:

“I saw how hard you worked on that.”

That encouragement is connected to an actual shared experience.

3. Accountability

A mentor can remember a goal and ask about it later.

“How did that application go?”

“Did you end up trying out for the team?”

“How did your presentation go?”

Accountability communicates that someone’s goals matter.

4. Perspective

A mentor brings their own experiences, mistakes, lessons, and understanding of the real world.

They can say:

“I’ve made mistakes too.”

That vulnerability can make advice feel more relatable.

5. A relationship that grows over time

Perhaps most importantly, a mentor can build a relationship.

Trust develops.

Understanding grows.

Shared memories accumulate.

The young person changes, and the mentor gets to know that changing person.

That’s what makes mentoring different from simply receiving an answer.

The Power of One Trusted Adult

Young people don’t need a huge network of adults telling them what to do.

Sometimes, one consistent relationship can make an enormous difference.

A young person may not listen to every adult.

They may not accept every piece of advice.

They may even ignore a mentor’s suggestion from time to time.

That’s normal.

What matters is that the relationship gives them someone they know they can return to.

Research summarized by MENTOR, the National Mentoring Partnership, points to positive personal, academic, and career outcomes associated with quality mentoring experiences.

The value of mentoring isn’t simply that a mentor has better answers.

It’s that the young person doesn’t have to figure everything out alone.

Mentors Don’t Need to Compete With AI

This is an important point for anyone considering becoming a mentor.

• You don’t need to know more about technology than the young person.
• You don’t need to be an AI expert.
• You don’t need to understand every new app.

And you certainly don’t need to compete with a chatbot.

• Your value comes from something completely different.
• You show up.
• You listen.
• You remember.
• You encourage.
• You challenge.
• You laugh together.
• You share experiences.
• You help a young person see possibilities they may not have considered.
• You provide a relationship that exists in the real world.

That is something technology cannot simply duplicate.

What Should Parents and Mentors Do About AI?

The answer doesn’t have to be complicated.

Start with conversation.

Ask young people how they use AI.

Don’t assume that every interaction is harmful.

At the same time, don’t assume that every AI response is reliable or appropriate.

Help young people understand that AI is a tool, not a replacement for people.

Encourage them to verify important information.

Talk about privacy.

Discuss what kinds of questions are appropriate to ask AI and when they should turn to a trusted adult or qualified professional instead.

Most importantly, make sure technology doesn’t become the only place where young people feel comfortable expressing themselves.

Create opportunities for real conversations.

Play together.

Go outside.

Work on something.

Ask questions.

Listen.

Sometimes, the best response to a young person’s digital world is simply to make more room for their real one.

Human Skills Matter More as Technology Gets Smarter

There’s an interesting paradox at the heart of artificial intelligence.

The smarter technology becomes, the more valuable distinctly human skills may become.

Young people will need to know how to communicate.

• How to collaborate.
• How to listen.
• How to disagree respectfully.
• How to recognize another person’s feelings.
• How to build trust.
• How to make decisions.
• How to cope with failure.
• How to ask for help.

AI may assist with some of these things, but young people still need opportunities to practice them with other people.

That’s where mentors can make a meaningful difference.

A mentor can create situations where a young person has to communicate, cooperate, make decisions, take a risk, recover from disappointment, and try again.

Those experiences become part of who they are.

The Future of Mentoring Isn’t Human vs. AI

The future will almost certainly include more AI.

Young people will grow up alongside increasingly capable digital tools.

They will use AI to learn, create, communicate, and solve problems.

The answer isn’t to pretend that technology won’t be part of their lives.

Instead, we should make sure technology exists alongside strong human relationships.

A young person should be able to use AI to brainstorm an idea and then discuss that idea with a mentor.

They should be able to use technology to learn something new and then practice it in the real world.

They should be able to explore questions online while still knowing who they can turn to when a question becomes personal.

Technology can expand possibilities.

Human connection gives those possibilities meaning.

Every Young Person Deserves Someone They Can Talk To

There may come a time when AI can answer almost any question.

It may become remarkably good at conversation.

It may even become difficult to distinguish between a natural conversation with a machine and one with another person.

But young people will still need people.

They will need someone who notices when they’re struggling.

• Someone who remembers what they said last week.
• Someone who celebrates when they succeed.
• Someone who encourages them when they fail.
• Someone who can sit beside them when there isn’t an easy answer.
• Someone who believes in them before they fully believe in themselves.

That’s the role a mentor can play.

At BBBSLI, mentoring is about creating meaningful relationships between young people and caring adults who can support, encourage, and help them discover their potential. If you’re interested in learning more about how mentoring works, explore our mentoring programs.

And if you’ve ever wondered whether simply giving your time and attention could make a difference, learn more about how you can become a mentor.

Because AI may be able to answer a young person’s question.

But sometimes, what a young person really needs isn’t another answer.

They need someone to say:

“I’m here. Let’s figure this out together.”

And that is something worth protecting in an AI-powered world.
Ultimately, AI and human connection don’t have to compete with each other.