I’m a Gen X father of three: one millennial, two Gen Z. Because of them, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what’s being lost between generations. Not in terms of values or music or fashion. I’m talking about how we connect.
Where I’m from, if you wanted to build relationships whether friendship, romance, mentorship, or business, you left the house. You went to church, to mixers, to conferences. You looked people in the eye, shook their hand, and read the room. Today, I watch my kids two of which are digital natives to the core, build their social world through screens. It’s more efficient, for sure. But is it as fulfilling?
Now enter AI, a technology I champion in business, education, and even household management. I use AI to accelerate production, augment creativity, and even translate speech during live, in-person tours at global conferences like CES. But even as I applaud these gains, I can’t ignore a deeper discomfort:
What happens when AI begins to mediate not just what we do, but who we are to each other?
The evidence is already shifting. A recent study found that 48% of people under the age of 42 spend more time socializing online than off. For many Gen Z people and Millennials, virtual experiences are not just stand-ins for the real world, they are the real world.
Even romance has a digital go-between now. AI-driven dating assistants like Meeno and Rizz help users generate flirty messages, answer texts, and navigate emotional nuance. In one survey, 71% of users said they were open to using AI to communicate on dating apps. But where does authenticity live in a zero-transparency relationship composed by a language model?
AI companions like Replika and Nomi go further, offering emotional support and pseudo-intimacy to millions worldwide. Some users report feeling more seen by their bots than by humans . That says as much about our isolation as it does about AI’s exponential growing capacity for mimicry.
Let’s be clear, however, this isn’t a simple tech-vs-humanity argument. AI has also proven by its use to enhance human connection. Real-time translation tools help us bridge language gaps in real-world interactions (check out my story from CES 2025 here). Emotion recognition software might soon help neurodivergent individuals better interpret social cues. These innovations don’t replace human interactions, they scaffold and support them.
So what’s the real tension that concerns me? I think it’s this:
We are becoming more fluent in optimization, and less practiced in intimacy.
We talk about up-skilling the workforce, but we should also talk about up-skilling empathy. How do we foster the social “muscles” that form in awkward silences, unresolved conflict, and non-verbal communication.
And what of continuity? Not just cultural memory, but human momentum, the kind that’s handed down through generational modeling. Driving a car. Selling a vision. Leading a prayer. These aren’t just skills, they’re rituals of transmission. If AI intermediates too much of that, what kind of human lineage would we be curating?
I’ve decided that I don’t want to preach or dictate the terms of our social evolution. Becoming a father has definitely impacted my leadership style. Rather than “rescue” Gen Z, perhaps we should ask them:
What does meaningful connection look like to you?
What parts of humanity do you want to keep analog?
And just as importantly, what are we Gen Xers willing to adapt our models of mentorship to learn from them?
As we automate more of life’s friction points, let’s be careful not to automate away its texture.
Connection doesn’t need to be efficient to be essential. I’d argue the best of it rarely is.
Sources:
- ZDNet: 48% of People Under 42 Prefer Online Socializing
- Time: AI’s Role in Modern Dating
- The Guardian: The Rise of AI Companionship
- CapTechU: AI Enhancing Human Communication
- Monash Lens: Intergenerational Learning and Social Connection
Bonus: The Tom and Jerry episode I thought of while drafting this article.
It’s called “Advance and be Mechanized.”
