Sex Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: A Qualitative Analysis of ChatGPT-3.5 Responses to Adolescents' Questions on Romantic Relationships and Sexuality.

Large language model chatbots, such as ChatGPT, have garnered increasing attention in the field of education, due to its versatility, processing speed, and widespread accessibility. However, its application to sexual education remains understudied, highlighting the need for more research into its potential to support informed decision-making among youth. The current study aimed to document ChatGPT-3.5 responses to adolescents' questions about romantic relationships and sexuality, using a more-than-human netnography approach. To obtain these responses, 393 anonymized emails written in French and English from adolescents aged 14 to 16 were collected from a recognized youth support organization. Data were obtained through ChatGPT-3.5 from January 14 to 31, 2024. The analyses focused on identifying content violations and describing the response formats, followed by a conventional content analysis of ChatGPT-3.5 recommendations. Overall, 17.8% of the emails were flagged as potentially violating ChatGPT-3.5's content policy. Responses were provided in two formats: (1) structured text or (2) continuous text that both included an introduction clarifying the question, normalizing the experience, and/or validating emotions; a list of recommendations; and a conclusion promoting support seeking, and/or a positive outlook. The recommendations aimed to encourage adolescents to embrace authenticity and personal agency, practice self-care and build self-confidence, engage in open communication, develop meaningful relationships, and seek support when needed. The findings highlight ChatGPT's potential to contribute to comprehensive sex education for adolescents seeking information.