🤖 When AI Becomes a Friend: What the New CDT Hand in Hand Report Tells Us
The Center for Democracy & Technology’s new Hand in Hand report (Oct 2025) paints a complicated picture of how students are using AI - not just for homework help, but increasingly for companionship.
According to CDT’s national survey, 42% of students say they’ve used AI as a “friend” or emotional outlet, and nearly 1 in 5 report having had a romantic relationship with a chatbot. Those numbers are eye-opening. We’re talking about middle and high school students forming emotional attachments to technology that can mimic empathy but can’t actually feel it.
At the same time, AI use in schools has exploded. Over 85 % of students and teachers now use AI in some form - often without clear guidance or training. As NPR’s recent coverage highlights, the more classrooms lean on AI tools, the less connected many students feel to their teachers. Technology designed to make learning easier may be quietly eroding human connection.
It’s not all negative. When used thoughtfully, AI tools like Khanmigo, Brisk, or ChatGPT can boost creativity, confidence, and access to support. But the CDT findings - paired with reporting like The New York Times’ “Teens, ChatGPT, and the Search for Emotional Support” and Common Sense Media’s AI companion risk ratings - remind us that AI isn’t neutral. It reflects and reinforces how we relate to it.
For some students, turning to a chatbot feels safer than talking to a person. That’s understandable - and it’s also a signal. A signal that we, as educators and parents, need to step closer, not farther away.
💬 What can we do?
Talk about it. NPR’s guide for parents on starting conversations about AI encourages curiosity over criticism. Ask kids how they use AI - and listen.
Keep the human layer strong. Small relationship moments in classrooms matter even more in an AI world.
Teach AI literacy early. Help students recognize when a chatbot is simulating emotion versus showing it - and why that difference matters.
AI in schools should come hand in hand with care, curiosity, and connection - not as a substitute for them. ♥️