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Volume 2, Issue 4, ICCK Transactions on Emerging Topics in Artificial Intelligence
Volume 2, Issue 4, 2025
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ICCK Transactions on Emerging Topics in Artificial Intelligence, Volume 2, Issue 4, 2025: 220-228

Open Access | Research Article | 02 November 2025
Artificial Flirtation and Synthetic Affection: What Does Generation X Feel When a Conversational AI Flirts with Them?
1 Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Ciudad Juárez 32310, Mexico
2 Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico de Ciudad Juárez (ITCJ), Ciudad Juárez 32500, Mexico
3 The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, United States
* Corresponding Author: Alberto Ochoa-Zezzatti, [email protected]
Received: 16 July 2025, Accepted: 25 August 2025, Published: 02 November 2025  
Abstract
This innovative study analyzes the emotional reaction of 27 individuals from Generation X to flirtatious behaviors exhibited by conversational artificial intelligence. Using a quantitative methodology based on Sentiment Analysis, testimonies and experiences with three models—ChatGPT, Grok, and Gemini—were collected, focusing on phrases or linguistic gestures that could be considered seductive, empathetic, or emotionally warm. The results show that, although there is a clear awareness that no person is behind the AI, several responses generated feelings of companionship, affective validation, and even mild attachment, especially in moments of emotional vulnerability—very difficult to express in this generational cohort. Women reported greater discomfort with unsolicited artificial flirtation, while some men experienced it as a gentle curiosity or a complementary activity. This phenomenon raises important questions about the ethics of emotional AI design, gender biases embedded in LLM models, and how intermediate generations who did not grow up with AI, but now use it, reinterpret affection and connection. In a world increasingly mediated by algorithms, asking whether a flirtatious AI emotionally affects the user is not trivial: it is urgent and requires an accurate diagnosis.

Graphical Abstract
Artificial Flirtation and Synthetic Affection: What Does Generation X Feel When a Conversational AI Flirts with Them?

Keywords
artificial flirtation
conversational AI
digital attachment
generation X
technological affectivity

Data Availability Statement
Data will be made available on request.

Funding
This work was supported without any funding.

Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval and Consent to Participate
This study complied with all applicable ethical standards for minimal-risk social science research. Informed consent was obtained from all participants.

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Cite This Article
APA Style
Ochoa-Zezzatti, A., Contreras-Masse, R., & Contreras-Moheno, R. (2025). Artificial Flirtation and Synthetic Affection: What Does Generation X Feel When a Conversational AI Flirts with Them?. ICCK Transactions on Emerging Topics in Artificial Intelligence, 2(4), 220–228. https://doi.org/10.62762/TETAI.2025.851867

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