When you hear the word mentor, people think of it as someone highly educated and respectable. Many people think that mentoring requires a financial investment and that not everyone has access to a mentor. In fact, people think that they do not have a mentor as they believe only professionals can have one.
To clarify this idea, mentorship should be available for everyone. According to Mentoring Beyond AI, mentorship focuses on broader skill sets that improve and enhance one’s professional and personal life, which can last a lifetime. Therefore, mentorship should be attainable by everyone who wants it. There are individuals who started finding ways on how they can easily access mentoring. By reading self-help books, watching inspirational and motivational videos, and with the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the landscape of mentorship is going through transformation.
According to IBM AI Solutions, Artificial Intelligence, commonly referred to as AI, is a technology that enables computers and machines to mimic human intelligence and problem-solving skills.
As time goes by, the way how traditional mentors provide guidance, support, answer questions, and help mentees build skills is slowly being imitated by Artificial Intelligence.
Since AI emerged and transformed traditional settings such as mentoring, it has played a significant role in this generation in using the mentors and mentees’ available time for the mentoring process. These mentoring AI tools help mentors and mentees to learn and change in three key categories:
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Personal
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Experiential
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Integrational
The mentee should acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs first to improve their performance. Additionally, they must be capable of gaining these skills and confidence through daily experiences. Lastly, they should be able to evaluate external sources of information, embrace new learning, and establish new practices based on their experiences. (MBAI, 2024)
Not only that, the use of AI in mentoring offers numerous benefits. AI has gained a major role in this era, from mentors to mentee relationships and mentoring firms to individuals seeking guidance. AI helps mentoring firms in some processes, such as mentor-matching, measuring complexities if consistent quality mentorship is provided, and many more. AI allows the young generation an accessible tool for their guidance and support for those who are in their early career times. Since the pandemic, the number of younger generations who need mental health help has increased too. The anxiety and depression inflated especially during the lockdown, which ended up with people resorting to the most accessible help–AI.
To sum up, AI is revolutionizing mentoring and enabling everyone to benefit from it. AI fills the void by providing personalized, experiential learning opportunities that are only available to professionals. It improves the relationships between mentors and mentees and integrating mentoring processes. As AI develops mentoring, it guarantees that everyone has access to vital support and advice, prompting progress on both personal and professional levels in ways never seen before.
References:
https://healthmatch.io/blog/the-gen-z-mental-health-wave-what-is-causing-the-surge
How AI is reshaping mentorship for Gen Z workers
