University Students’ Perceptions About Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the perceptions of university students about the concept of artificial intelligence. The sample of the research carried out with the screening method consists of 130 fourth grade students studying in the Faculty of Education, Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences of a university in Eastern Anatolia region in 2018-2019 academic year. 42 students from Faculty of Education, 47 from Faculty of Arts and Sciences and 41 from Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences participated in the study. The sample of the study was determined by snowball sampling method. Independent Word Association Test was used as data collection tool. Content analysis was used for data analysis. As a result of the study, it was determined that artificial intelligence perceptions of the students of the Faculty of Education were richer than the students of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Another important result determined in the study is that the negative perceptions of all sample groups about artificial intelligence concept are more significant than positive perceptions. Giving lectures to university students about current artificial intelligence applications and usage in their fields are among the suggestions of the study.