Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: Students’ Attitudes, Trust in AI vs. Human Experts, and Perceived Learning Facilitation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/PBE.2026.007Keywords
artificial intelligence, education, students’ attitudes, trust in AI, higher education technology adoptionAbstract
Introduction/aim: Artificial intelligence (AI) is having an increasing impact on both the learning and teaching processes. The study aimed to examine students' patterns of AI use, their level of trust in this technology, and the impact of AI on their subjectively perceived learning outcomes.
Methods: The study involved 472 students. It was conducted using a proprietary survey that measured, among other things: the frequency of use of AI-based tools, attitudes toward AI, the level of trust in information generated by AI compared to information from humans, and the subjective perception of AI facilitating learning.
Three hypotheses were proposed: H1: Frequent use of AI has a positive effect on the perceived ease of learning. H2: Students trust information from people more than information from AI.
H3: A positive attitude toward AI in education is associated with more frequent use of these tools.
Results: A significant relationship was found between the frequency of AI use and the subjective perception of its benefits in the learning process. In situations of conflicting information, as many as 85% of students declared greater trust in lecturers than in AI. A relationship was demonstrated between a positive attitude toward AI and more frequent use of AI-based tools.
Conclusions: The results confirm that frequent use of AI is associated with a positive perception of its impact on the learning process. At the same time, students remain cautious about AI, preferring information from humans. Attitudes toward AI prove to be an important predictor of its use, suggesting that education in the competent use of these tools can increase their effectiveness in an academic environment.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Magdalena Kazimierska-Zając, Joanna Felczak, Aleksandra Patyk-Rybka
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