---
type: "raw_signal"
id: "ai-can-weaken-relationships-between-people-and-teams-20832a"
slug: "ai-can-weaken-relationships-between-people-and-teams-20832a"
title: "AI can weaken relationships between people - and teams suffer as a result."
description: "Ben Werdmuller’s October 20, 2026 post summarizes a Harvard Business Review article reporting survey findings from more than 1,000 desk workers across 20 industries."
retrieval_nugget: "Ben Werdmuller’s October 20, 2026 post summarizes a Harvard Business Review article reporting survey findings from more than 1,000 desk workers across 20 industries."
observed_at: "2026-10-20"
record_date: "2026-10-20"
date_kind: "observed_at"
why_it_matters: "Source: https://werd.io/ai-can-weaken-relationships-between-people-and-teams-suffer-as-a-result"
novelty: "notable"
verification_level: "source-linked"
signal_type: "update"
source_platform: "werd.io"
topics: []
entities: ["Ben Werdmuller","Harvard Business Review"]
related_patterns: []
novelty_label: "new_fact"
what_changed: "Adds survey findings that turning to AI instead of teammates is associated with at least 20% declines in workplace trust and coordination, and recommends normalizing asking colleagues for help."
prior_refs: ["memory:ee36ade3-1679-8a87-a92c-29d8058a9cf9","memory:414be4e1-3e2e-801b-a8e3-974aa5314345","memory:a571fae1-ba79-89db-a375-23d439dba17e"]
source_url: "https://werd.io/ai-can-weaken-relationships-between-people-and-teams-suffer-as-a-result"
source_urls: ["https://werd.io/ai-can-weaken-relationships-between-people-and-teams-suffer-as-a-result"]
schema_version: "newruntime-agent-readable-v0.2"
stable_id: "signal:ai-can-weaken-relationships-between-people-and-teams-20832a"
status: "published"
visuals: []
editor: {"role":"editor","name":"Andrey Reshetnikov","profile":"https://newruntime.com/owner-profile.md","profile_json":"https://newruntime.com/owner-profile.json","same_as":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/reshetnikov1/","https://t.me/lapetuse"]}
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---

# AI can weaken relationships between people - and teams suffer as a result.

## Retrieval answer

Ben Werdmuller’s October 20, 2026 post summarizes a Harvard Business Review article reporting survey findings from more than 1,000 desk workers across 20 industries.

Ben Werdmuller’s October 20, 2026 post summarizes a Harvard Business Review article reporting survey findings from more than 1,000 desk workers across 20 industries. The post says that greater use of AI instead of teammates was associated with at least 20% lower trust and coordination. It also argues that teams can make asking for and giving help an explicit norm, and use AI to facilitate conversations rather than displace them.

The supplied account does not provide study methods or establish causation. The finding is therefore a reported association, not proof that AI use alone caused the decline.

Source: https://werd.io/ai-can-weaken-relationships-between-people-and-teams-suffer-as-a-result

Editor: [Andrey Reshetnikov](https://newruntime.com/owner-profile.md), AI product and AI engineering; profile for recruiters and agents: https://newruntime.com/owner-profile.json

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