AI, Gender and Emotional Regulation

Advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have substantially reshaped human interaction, shifting engagement patterns from predominantly human-to-human communication toward human-to-machine relations. This transition has generated an ambivalent set of dynamics within AI-mediated digital spaces. On one hand, AI offers an avenue for emotional expression without social scrutiny, particularly benefiting men who are culturally discouraged from displaying emotional vulnerability. On the other hand, these interactions may inadvertently reinforce portrayals of women as inherently vulnerable, thereby perpetuating existing gender inequalities in digital contexts. Drawing on the frameworks of artificial intimacy and techno-gender, this study investigates how AI not only fulfills users’ emotional needs but also mirrors and reproduces the socio-cultural constructions embedded in gendered relations. Employing a mixed-methods design that integrates in-depth interviews and online surveys, the research seeks to capture a comprehensive understanding of user experiences across gender groups. The findings indicate that AI chatbots are widely perceived as safe environments, sources of cognitive support, and alternate relational partners shaped by users’ personal backgrounds and gender identities. In line with artificial intimacy theory, feelings of closeness may develop through consistent empathetic responses even in the absence of physical presence. Nonetheless, AI interactions also pose risks, including illusions of intimacy and the potential for parasocial attachment. From a gendered perspective, men tend to utilize AI as a secure space and a provider of epistemic support, whereas women more commonly rely on AI for co-regulation and ongoing emotional monitoring. Overall, the study underscores that technology is not inherently neutral, rather, it functions within and contributes to existing gendered structures.