AI Comes Out of the Closet: Using AI-Generated Virtual Characters to Help Individuals Practice LGBTQIA+ Advocacy

Despite significant historical progress, discrimination and social stigma continue to impact the lives of LGBTQIA+ individuals. The use of AI-generated virtual characters offers a unique opportunity to facilitate advocacy by engaging individuals in simulated conversations that can foster understanding, education, and empathy. This paper explores the potential of AI simulations in helping individuals practice LGBTQIA+ advocacy, while also acknowledging the need for ethical considerations and addressing concerns about oversimplification or perpetuation of stereotypes. By combining technological innovation with a commitment to inclusivity, we aim to contribute to the ongoing struggle for equality in both the legal framework and the hearts and minds of the community. We present a study evaluating virtual characters driven by generative conversational AI simulating the social interactions surrounding ‘coming out of the closet’, a rite of passage associated with LGBTQIA+ communities. In our study, virtual characters embodied as queer individuals engage with users in a text-based conversation simulation paired with visual representations. We investigate how the interactions between the virtual characters and a user influence the user’s comfort, confidence, empathy and sympathy. We developed an AI simulation with distinct visual personas and deployed a series of conditions. We explore the potential of these interfaces for simulating queer social interactions to enhance LGBTQIA+ potential and cultural acceptance. We present findings from such deployments involving 323 users. Finally, we discuss the design implications of our work on the potential future of embodied, self-actuated and openly LGBTQIA+ intelligent agents.