Empowering sustainable education: Unleashing the potential of artificial intelligence

Abstract

This study looks at how attending an AI literacy course affects university students' AI literacy level and their sense of empowerment in a one-group quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test study design, using an AI literacy and empowerment pre-test and post-test, and aims to understand the impact of attending an AI literacy program (220 undergraduate students from the preparatory year at King Faisal University, studying a range of disciplines, with only a short introduction to the basics of AI). The study involved teaching basic AI (concepts, chosen educational applications, discussing ethical issues, and practical AI use in their studies) using an AI literacy and empowerment assessment by applying an AI literacy post-test and an AI empowerment post-test that were verified for results. The study shows a statistically significant improvement in both AI literacy and students' empowerment levels in a range of different settings, where AI literacy could make a tangible difference. Therefore, this study makes an important contribution to the discussion of what it means to be a sustainable education system for university students in the AI era. It also suggests that this study could inform universities and policymakers about what steps need to be taken to ensure AI initiatives are practical, ethically sound, and support the learning needs of students.