{"id":403242,"date":"2026-04-17T10:40:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T10:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/403242\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T10:40:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T10:40:09","slug":"teen-boys-are-dating-their-ai-chatbots-and-experts-warn-it-could-hurt-their-careers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/403242\/","title":{"rendered":"Teen boys are dating their AI chatbots\u2014and experts warn it could hurt their careers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gen Z dated strategically\u2014dating people 25% more attractive and successful than them<\/a> to climb the social ladder. Gen Alpha, it seems, has decided the whole thing is too much effort. Instead, teen boys are quietly swapping first dates, awkward silences, and emotional guesswork for an AI girlfriend who never cancels<\/a>, never argues, and always texts back.<\/p>\n

In fact, research<\/a> by Male Allies UK found that 20% of boys aged 12 to 16 know a peer who is \u201cdating\u201d an AI chatbot, while 85% have spoken to one, and over a quarter even prefer the attention and connection they get from a bot over the real thing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most shockingly, 58% said an AI relationship is easier because they can \u201ccontrol the conversation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The appeal is, as one professor told Fortune, obvious: \u201cmaximum control, zero rejection.\u201d And it\u2019s a shift that could reshape not just their love lives, but their future careers.<\/p>\n

The toll of opting out of real relationships, in all their mess and glory, experts warn, could be a generation that arrives in the workforce unable to read a room, build trust over a coffee, or handle the one thing AI can never prepare you for\u2014being told no.<\/p>\n

Gen Alpha\u2019s new \u2018girlfriend\u2019 comes with an off switch and no social risk\u2014unlike real relationships<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real issue is not that young people are talking to AI, but that some may start using it as a substitute for the messy, demanding work of human connection,\u201d says Professor Pierluigi Casale, Head of AI at OPIT. \u201cReal relationships teach negotiation, empathy, rejection, compromise, and social confidence. AI companionship can mimic intimacy whilst removing much of that friction.\u201d<\/p>\n

That convenience may come at a cost that stretches far beyond dating. Because the same soft skills needed to maintain a relationship are just as vital in the workplace. For example, to nail an interview<\/a>, present in front of peers, or even just handle opposing opinions in the office.<\/a> And it\u2019s already lacking in younger generations who grew up with a smartphone in their hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fortune has already reported that Gen Z grads are being fired at record rates<\/a>\u2014with a lack of social skills frequently cited as a key reason; That struggling to hold conversations with coworkers is already holding young workers back from promotions<\/a>; And some employers are even forcing their new young hires to take on basic soft skills training<\/a>, including lessons in how to speak up in meetings.<\/a><\/p>\n

If Gen Z is already struggling, Gen Alpha\u2014with AI companions that never push back, never need tending, and always agree\u2014could arrive in even worse shape.<\/p>\n

Essentially, the workplace case against AI relationships is less about romance and more about what human relationships actually teach you.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cReading a room, picking up on social cues, building trust over coffee or a conference dinner\u2014these are muscles you develop through practice, and practice requires real people,\u201d Alessia Paccagnini, Associate Professor at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, stresses.<\/p>\n

Professor Raoul V. K\u00fcbler of ESSEC Business School puts it more bluntly: the risk is that boys dating AI are \u201cunconsciously training themselves to expect relationships that never push back, never need tending, and never require genuine compromise. These are, however, exactly the skills that determine success in careers, friendships, and life.\u201d And crucially, he adds, \u201cthis shift happens so gradually that most people don\u2019t notice it\u2019s happening at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s one ironic upside: these boys will probably enter the workforce pretty fluent in AI\u2014and K\u00fcbler says that knowing how to communicate with and interact with AI could give these teens a \u201cgenuine head start\u201d over their peers when it comes to job hunting one day. \u201cIn that sense, dating an AI might be surprisingly good career preparation,\u201d K\u00fcbler adds.<\/p>\n

But he is clear that it\u2019s a two-sided coin. \u201cReal technical fluency on one side, stunted personal development on the other\u2014and the job market will eventually demand both.\u201d<\/p>\n

The real price of an AI girlfriend: fewer connections and fewer opportunities<\/p>\n

Teen boys might think an AI girlfriend solves their immediate problems\u2014no awkward small talk, no rejection, no risking embarrassment. But there\u2019s a quieter long\u2011term cost: with fewer real\u2011life relationships, they\u2019re not just dodging discomfort, they\u2019re forfeiting access.<\/p>\n

As Paccagnini puts it: \u201cWhen you can custom-design a companion who never disappoints you, the incentive to invest in messy, imperfect real-world friendships, romantic or otherwise, diminishes. And those non-romantic ties are often the ones that open professional doors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, young people who retreat into the comfort of AI companionship could be hit with a double whammy effect: They won\u2019t just feel more socially rusty, they\u2019ll simply know fewer people who can open doors, recommend them for roles, or whisper their name in the right room at the right moment.<\/p>\n

Plenty of CEOs have told Fortune<\/a> that early\u2011career friendships were vital to their growth, particularly for those who didn\u2019t start with money or family connections.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One millennial founder, Sam Budd\u2014who got his start working alongside Diary of a CEO\u2019s Steven Bartlett\u2014described escaping a childhood shaped by poverty and a heroin\u2011addicted father through relentless networking<\/a>: showing up, asking for help, and building a web of people who wanted to see him win.<\/p>\n

Likewise, Kurt Geiger\u2019s CEO<\/a> Neil Clifford told Fortune he went from cleaning toilets to running the Steve Madden\u2013owned multimillion-dollar accessories brand by befriending his bosses along the way: \u201cYou want them to be fabulous\u2014you want them to love you and want to help you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The common thread is not talent alone, but proximity. Being known. Being remembered. Being recommended.<\/p>\n

Even once in the C-suite, leaders have told Fortune<\/a> that they\u2019re still turning to those connections they made at the start of their careers for genuine advice, honest feedback, and even career opportunities\u2014decades later.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s why, Paccagnini warns, this shift could quietly shape a whole generation\u2019s trajectory: \u201cWe may see long-term consequences not just for their romantic lives, but for their capacity to collaborate, lead, and build the kind of human networks that careers depend on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Because when the time comes to pick a successor, a partner, or a prot\u00e9g\u00e9, no executive is going to ask what your AI girlfriend thinks of you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gen Z dated strategically\u2014dating people 25% more attractive and successful than them to climb the social ladder. Gen…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403243,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[220,218,219,320,17156,2940,8744,15611,2945,61,60,39057,2277,15684,5152,2006,80,27457,108925],"class_list":{"0":"post-403242","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-career","12":"tag-career-advice","13":"tag-careers","14":"tag-dating","15":"tag-friendship","16":"tag-gen-z","17":"tag-ie","18":"tag-ireland","19":"tag-mentorship","20":"tag-network","21":"tag-networking","22":"tag-promotions","23":"tag-relationships","24":"tag-technology","25":"tag-the-promotion-playbook","26":"tag-view-from-the-c-suite"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403242\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}