Investigating Artificial Intelligence Anxiety among University Students in Northern Cyprus

Abstract

Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into daily life is becoming widespread in various sectors, especially education, and this increases concerns about artificial intelligence among university students. The current study aims to investigate AI anxiety among university students in northern Cyprus in terms of how prevalent or varied it is according to selected demographic and experiential factors. AI anxiety scale was used to measure students' anxiety along four dimensions: Learning, AI Configuration, Job Replacement, and Sociotechnical Blindness. Data (n=395) were collected from university students in Northern Cyprus and analyzed using Mann-Whitney U tests and Kruskal-Wallis H tests. Findings show that students experienced the highest anxiety at job replacement (Mean = 3.42, SD = 0.82) and the lowest at learning (Mean = 2.91, SD = 1.06). Non-STEM students experienced significantly higher levels of AI anxiety than their STEM students (p <0.001), while females exhibited higher levels than males (p <0.001). Additionally, students with over five hours of use of the technology per day demonstrated the highest anxiety levels (p = 0.013). Age differences were significant, too, with the highest level of anxiety toward AI reported among 21–23-year-old students (p = 0.014). Based on these results, awareness-raising activities and guidance services regarding the use of artificial intelligence can help students better understand this technology and manage their anxiety. In addition, to reduce the AI anxiety experienced by students during this technological transformation process, it will be useful to develop strategies suitable for the needs of different demographic and academic groups and organize awareness-raising and training programs.