TRANSFORMATIVE PEDAGOGY IN THE DIGITAL AGE: UNRAVELING THE IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a transformative force in education, significantly influencing students. This research explores AI's impact on learning experiences, academic performance, career guidance, motivation, self-reliance, social interaction, and AI dependency. Utilizing a descriptive-comparative design, 194 student respondents were chosen through stratified sampling. The results show that students generally perceive AI positively. Students agree that AI enhances personalized learning, engagement, and critical thinking, although practical hands-on learning experiences received less favorable feedback. Academically, students concur that AI helps them identify weaknesses, improve assignments, and track progress, despite some reservations about its efficacy in exam preparation. For career guidance, students agree that AI effectively matches skills with career options, recommends internships, and provides resources, though it is less effective for long-term planning. Students also believe AI boosts motivation through gamified learning and progress tracking and fosters self-reliance via self-directed learning and critical thinking support. Socially, students agree that AI facilitates collaboration, peer learning, and networking. Additionally, students demonstrate a reliance on AI for their learning processes. Notably, female students report a more significant impact on social interactions than male students. The type of device used (laptop vs. cellphone) significantly affects the learning experience, with laptop users reporting a more substantial impact. Differences in AI's impact are noted among various courses, particularly benefiting education students more than those in hospitality management and agriculture. However, age and family income do not significantly influence AI's overall impact.