AI Across Borders: Exploring Perceptions and Interactions in Higher Education

TL;DR

This study explores students' perceptions of Generative AI in higher education across Northern Ireland and India, revealing how perceptions vary by institution and subject, with nuanced influences of experience and demographics.

Contribution

It provides new insights into how perceptions of AI are shaped by experience, institution, and subject area, highlighting interactions that previous studies overlooked.

Findings

Perceptions vary across institutions but are similar among Computer Science students.

Gender has no significant effect on perceptions after controlling for other variables.

Prior experience with AI influences students' perceptions significantly.

Abstract

This study investigates students' perceptions of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), with a focus on Higher Education institutions in Northern Ireland and India. We collect quantitative Likert ratings and qualitative comments from 1211 students on their awareness and perceptions of AI and investigate variations in attitudes toward AI across institutions and subject areas, as well as interactions between these variables with demographic variables (focusing on gender). We found the following: (a) while perceptions varied across institutions, responses for Computer Sciences students were similar, both in terms of topics and degree of positivity; and (b) after controlling for institution and subject area, we observed no effect of gender. These results are consistent with previous studies, which find that students' perceptions are predicted by prior experience; crucially, however, the results of this study contribute to the literature by identifying important interactions between key factors that can influence experience, revealing a more nuanced picture of students' perceptions and the role of experience. We consider the implications of these relations, and further considerations for the role of experience.