Think students universally embrace AI with open arms? The reality is more complicated.
In a cross-institutional project, we surveyed over 8,000 university students in Australia, and we found some contradictions and diverse emotions when it comes to their engagement with AI in learning and assessment. The revealed emotional landscape shows a range of excitement, gratitude, worry/unease, stress/guilt, and scepticism. In focus group interviews with 79 students, they further explained some of the reasons behind these varied feelings.
50% of the surveyed students expressed positive feelings about AI, highlighting statements such as “I am grateful for AI” and “I am excited by AI.” Focus group participants elaborated on these sentiments, describing AI as “empowering” and “efficient,” and praising its ability to save time, simplify tasks, and provide clarity. One student explained that AI gave them confidence, calling it a “sounding board” that could validate their ideas and ensure alignment with assignment criteria. Another highlighted its ability to “simplify things” and alleviate the mental burden of overwhelming workloads.
Yet, this enthusiasm is far from universal.
27% of surveyed students reported feeling stressed by AI. Among focus group participants, stress often intertwined with guilt, particularly for those who used AI to manage tight deadlines. One student confessed, “I feel like I’m not putting in enough hard work that I should. I’m just taking the easier path.” This sense of moral conflict underscores the tension between the convenience AI provides and students’ aspirations to fully engage with their learning processes.
Moreover, 47% of surveyed students reported feeling worried about AI. Focus group participants expressed their unease, describing AI as “a bit of a minefield” that has “come from nowhere and now it’s everywhere.” They voiced uncertainty about its growing role in education, with some questioning whether AI might eventually replace traditional forms of assessment. Words like “overwhelming” and “confusing” captured their apprehension as they grappled with the shifting boundaries of acceptable use.
Scepticism was also reported by 56% of the surveyed students, and some focus group participants described AI-generated outputs as “crap” or “not clear”. One student explained how they saw AI as “helpful but flawed” in relation to its inconsistent accuracy, often causing students to mistrust AI outputs. Another described their approach to AI as cautious, because they felt that being “too reliant on anything” will eventually lead to negative effects.
This spectrum of emotions – excitement and gratitude, worry/unease, stress/guilt and scepticism – reveals that students’ feelings about AI are far from homogenous.
While many recognise its utility, their emotional responses shape how they engage with it. In addition to supporting students in using AI effectively, universities must pay attention to these affective dimensions, not only helping students navigate the complex feelings that it evokes, but also being mindful of how university messaging contributes to those feelings.
For students, AI is not simply a tool they love or reject – it’s a source of both opportunity and challenge in their academic journeys.
Glenys Oberg (University of Queensland) and Yifei Liang (University of Queensland) wrote this article, representing the Students and AI collaborative project team of 20 scholars from 4 universities. More at AIinHE.org.
