We think our boss has become obsessed with a chatbot. What can we do?

July 31, 2026 — 5:01am

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I used to have a strong professional relationship with my boss and I respected them. But they have changed recently. Once they were considerate and supportive – some colleagues even thought they were a bit too gentle. Now they are neither of those things. They are definitely not gentle. They have started talking about instituting a new regime based on the advice of a friend and business mentor. All the new policies and ideas seem severe.

A small group of people who report to this boss (including me) have talked in private about who this “mentor” is and why they are telling our manager to be so harsh and punishing. Our team is performing well, and has for years. There is now a strong rumour that the friend is actually an AI chatbot. Surely, that can’t be true, can it?

It certainly seems extraordinary that a professional could become so attached to a chatbot that they would change their entire work style and personality based on its “opinion”. Extraordinary but not inconceivable.

About three years ago, a reader wrote to me about a work problem that they had........

© The Sydney Morning Herald