What happens when AI becomes our new favourite colleague?

This opinion piece was originally published at digi.no on 13 September 2026.

Generative artificial intelligence is no longer just another new tool in working life. For many, it has already become the first place they turn for answers. It can make us faster, more efficient, and more self-sufficient. At the same time, it raises a question that concerns us all: What happens to the workplace when brainstorming and sparring increasingly move from people to machines? What happens to the social environment if spontaneous conversations between colleagues disappear?

In 2023, 24 percent of Norwegian businesses reported using AI. By 2025, that figure had risen to 55 percent, and it is probably even higher today. From ChatGPT to Claude, there is no doubt that AI is here to stay.

There are many upsides to this. An NHO report published in January shows, among other things, that AI can increase productivity and boost revenues. Information has become even more accessible, and for many people Claude, ChatGPT or Microsoft 365 Copilot has already become a well-integrated tool that makes everyday work easier.

Large tasks are easier to tackle with the help of AI. That is why I am also optimistic about technology. But the more efficient our workdays become, the more important it is to ask what we may lose along the way.

Because even though AI can be a good sparring partner, typing out a prompt cannot generate social cohesion. That is created by the people in the office. When we stop asking each other, we also lose meaningful dialogue, the exchange of ideas and spontaneous small talk. I worry that we risk losing a positive workplace culture if Claude becomes the most consulted colleague in the office.

AI can help with Excel sheets, brainstorming and draft texts, but it can never replace the colleague standing by the coffee machine or the good conversations around the lunch table.

This is about more than well-being. In a society that is becoming increasingly polarised, the workplace is one of the few arenas where people can meet meet across differences and disagreements. These encounters happen between people, not between people and language models.
In many ways, AI is the perfect colleague. Always available, efficient, patient and humble. But it cannot create a positive workplace culture. That is still something only people can do.