AI was supposed to help us write emails, search faster and finish homework.
Somewhere along the way, it also became someone to talk to.
A recent Kaspersky survey reported that 33% of Malaysian Gen Z respondents use AI as they would a friend. Across Asia Pacific, half of Gen Z respondents said they use AI every day or almost every day, while 34% said they use AI to discuss personal issues they would rather not share with other people. The Malaysian findings were reported by SoyaCincau, based on Kaspersky research involving 7,200 respondents across 18 countries. (SoyaCincau)
That is a very different relationship with technology.
Google was something you searched.
Instagram was somewhere you posted.
WhatsApp was where you talked to people.
AI can now sit somewhere between all three.
You can ask it for advice, complain about work, talk through relationship problems, practise difficult conversations or tell it things you might feel awkward saying to another person.
And AI never looks bored.
It replies immediately.
It does not interrupt.
It does not judge you in the way another person might.
You can understand why that feels comfortable.
The problem is that something can feel personal without actually being private.
When we talk to another person, we usually have some idea of where the conversation goes. With an AI service, what we type may be processed, stored or used in ways most people never think about while chatting.
That becomes more important when conversations move from “help me choose a laptop” to “here is what happened with my family” or “this is what I am struggling with right now.”
There is another issue too.
AI is very good at sounding confident.
That does not mean it understands your life, knows the whole situation or is always giving you good advice.
A chatbot can produce an incredibly convincing response while still being wrong.
This does not mean people should stop talking to AI.
That is probably unrealistic anyway.
AI is becoming part of normal digital life, especially for younger users. The interesting question is whether our habits are evolving as quickly as the technology.
Maybe the new rule is simple.
Use AI to think.
Use it to explore ideas.
Talk to it if that helps.
Just remember that the friendly box on your screen is still a technology platform.
It can feel like a friend.
That does not automatically make it one.