Every Student Should Have an AI Learning Companion

We are already living with AI companions. Millions of people now turn to chatbots for support, reflection, and guidance, forming relationships with systems that respond fluently but lack lived experience or human reciprocity. The question is no longer whether AI companionship will exist. The question is how far it should go.

Should AI companions be resisted as a psychological risk, embraced as a new form of connection, or carefully designed as a supplement that strengthens human development rather than replacing it? In education, this debate becomes sharper: if every student has an AI learning companion, does it expand access and personalization—or subtly reshape how students build resilience, identity, and social skills?

This session examines where AI companionship helps, where it harms, and whether it can be designed as a bridge to human connection rather than a destination in itself.