An Investigation of University Students' Attitudes Towards Artificial Intelligence Ethics

Abstract

The increasing complexity and widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI) underscore the importance of its ethical dimensions. Understanding diverse perspectives on AI ethics is crucial, especially among university students who will shape future technological advancements. This study aims to deeply examine university students’ attitudes toward AI ethics, focusing on fairness, transparency, privacy, responsibility, and non-maleficence. A mixed-methods approach was used. In the quantitative phase, 355 students from engineering (E) and education science (ES) programs were evaluated using the AI Ethics Attitudes Scale. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews with 23 students were thematically analyzed to gain detailed perspectives based on gender and discipline. The findings revealed significant gender-based differences in fairness and privacy, with female students scoring higher than male students. Interdisciplinary differences were evident in the transparency dimension, where ES students showed greater sensitivity. Interviews highlighted that female student emphasized legal compliance and data security more, whereas male students focused on financial information privacy. ES students prioritized user-friendly language and feedback and complaints in transparency discussions.