Public Discourses on AI Companions in Indonesia: A Semantic Network Analysis of Twitter Conversations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25008/raapr457Abstract
The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed how humans communicate and make sense of technology. One notable example is ChatGPT, an AI-based conversational system that has become embedded in everyday digital life, functioning not only as a tool but also as a communicative partner. This study aims to map public discourse about ChatGPT on X (Twitter) using a semantic network analysis approach. Data were collected from user posts mentioning the keyword “ChatGPT” during August 2025. The dataset was processed and analyzed in Gephi to calculate degree centrality, betweenness centrality, and modularity, and then qualitatively interpreted through Papacharissi’s (2015) Affective Publics framework. The results reveal two dominant clusters: a functional cluster that emphasizes ChatGPT’s role as a productivity and learning assistant, and an emotional cluster that reflects users’ affective attachment to ChatGPT as a conversational companion that provides empathy and emotional validation. The “ChatGPT” node achieved the highest betweenness centrality, signifying its bridging position between rational and affective dimensions of human–machine communication. Drawing on the Affective Publics perspective, the study concludes that digital public spheres are shaped through technologically mediated emotional resonance and collective storytelling, producing new forms of shared meaning and social connectedness within Indonesia’s digital society.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Nadinta Rafifah Suaib, Rajab Ritonga, Tri Wahyu Retno Ningsih
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with Jurnal Komunikasi Ikatan Sarjana Komunikasi Indonesia agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
