AI's Impact on Peer to Peer Relations
Faculty Mentor Information
Dr. Edward Ferrier, Boise State University
Presentation Date
7-15-2026
Abstract
As AI chatbots have become ever more prevalent in the daily lives of undergraduates, it has become important to consider the ways in which reliance on AI as a conversational partner may be impacting human peer-to-peer relationships. To investigate this question, I employed 30-minute semi-structured interviews with 12 undergraduate students from Boise State University (students were recruited via university contact list). The interviews centered on questions that would elicit insights on how AI use was impacting students’ views about and interactions with their teachers and peers. While AI is still emerging as a technology, this study nonetheless investigates the future consequences that AI might pose to general college social environments.
Findings of this study indicate that students are locked in a paradoxical relationship with AI, focusing on its instrumental use yet voicing myriad concerns about its social impacts. Students reported AI as replacing reliance on human resources (50% replaces engagements with other students, 42% replaces engagement with instructors, 42% replaces need for social spaces) and as a perpetuator of parasocial relations (92%). Not all data centered around interpersonal connections, as a majority of students also reported fears of government (50%), environmental damage (50%) and future generational harm (83%). While 67% of students report AI as a tool—defined as an instrument used to facilitate mechanical work—the data listed above suggests that students have consistently integrated chatbot advice into complex social capacities. These observations overall contribute to literature surrounding ethical AI integration and assess individual concerns that may be of value in future policy surrounding AI use at the university level.
AI's Impact on Peer to Peer Relations
As AI chatbots have become ever more prevalent in the daily lives of undergraduates, it has become important to consider the ways in which reliance on AI as a conversational partner may be impacting human peer-to-peer relationships. To investigate this question, I employed 30-minute semi-structured interviews with 12 undergraduate students from Boise State University (students were recruited via university contact list). The interviews centered on questions that would elicit insights on how AI use was impacting students’ views about and interactions with their teachers and peers. While AI is still emerging as a technology, this study nonetheless investigates the future consequences that AI might pose to general college social environments.
Findings of this study indicate that students are locked in a paradoxical relationship with AI, focusing on its instrumental use yet voicing myriad concerns about its social impacts. Students reported AI as replacing reliance on human resources (50% replaces engagements with other students, 42% replaces engagement with instructors, 42% replaces need for social spaces) and as a perpetuator of parasocial relations (92%). Not all data centered around interpersonal connections, as a majority of students also reported fears of government (50%), environmental damage (50%) and future generational harm (83%). While 67% of students report AI as a tool—defined as an instrument used to facilitate mechanical work—the data listed above suggests that students have consistently integrated chatbot advice into complex social capacities. These observations overall contribute to literature surrounding ethical AI integration and assess individual concerns that may be of value in future policy surrounding AI use at the university level.