AI career mentors: Why students trust algorithms more than teachers


In a university library, a young female student is seated at a desk, looking confidently at the viewer with her laptop open. A holographic display in front of her shows a personalized "CAREERPATH AI - Your Personal Mentor" interface with a virtual assistant, data, and career graphs. Behind her, a male teacher or mentor looks on with a somewhat concerned expression, while other students are also engaging with similar AI interfaces. Image (and typos) generated by Nano Banana.
In an increasingly digital world, a striking trend is emerging: students are increasingly turning to AI career mentors, sometimes trusting algorithms more than traditional teachers for guidance. This image illustrates a student’s engagement with an AI-driven career planning tool, highlighting the shift in how young people seek and value mentorship in shaping their future paths. Image (and typos) generated by Nano Banana.

Source

eCampus News

Summary

Students are increasingly turning to AI-powered career mentoring tools rather than human advisers, attracted by their availability, consistency, and nonjudgmental tone. These tools guide students through résumé building, job matching, and interview preparation. While many students appreciate the low-stakes feedback and on-demand access, the article cautions that AI mentors lack context, empathy, adaptability, and the ability to intervene ethically. Human mentors remain essential for developing resilience, nuance, and professional values. The piece argues that AI mentoring should supplement—not replace—human guidance, and that institutions must consider trust, transparency, and balance in deploying algorithmic support systems.

Key Points

  • AI mentors are trusted by students for reliability, availability, and neutrality in feedback.
  • They are used to support résumé advice, career pathway suggestions, interview prep, etc.
  • However, AI lacks empathy, context awareness, and the moral judgement of human mentors.
  • Overreliance could erode the mentoring dimension of education—encouraging transactional rather than relational interaction.
  • Best practice: blend AI mentoring with human oversight and reflection, ensuring transparency and trust.

Keywords

URL

https://www.ecampusnews.com/ai-in-education/2025/10/01/ai-career-mentors-why-students-trust-algorithms-more-than-teachers/

Summary generated by ChatGPT 5