Are employees building emotional connections with ChatGPT?

Recent headlines have drawn attention to the emotional connections some users are forming with AI tools like ChatGPT. Most notably OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described what he saw as a “heartbreaking” trend as people felt more supported.

Speaking on a podcast earlier this month, Altman described the newly launched GPT-5 as “less of a yes man”, but also expressed his shock and concern upon receiving feedback from users that they missed the older version, because, as he put it, “I’ve never had anyone in my life be supportive of me. I never had a parent tell me I was doing a good job.”

However, Catherine Connelly, human resources professor and Canada research chair in organizational behaviour at McMaster University, urges employers and HR professionals to be cautious when reading these and similar stories.

“I think people are using these tools widely, but I also think adult professionals know that these are tools.”