An examination of faculty member's acceptance of artificial intelligence according to different variables

At universities, the adoption and utilization of new technologies such as AI have the potential to significantly impact the educational and research processes within these institutions. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the acceptance of AI technologies among university faculty members in Turkey. The descriptive survey method, one of the scanning methods, was used to identify the current situation. Quantitative data were collected using the Artificial Intelligence Acceptance Scale, and generalizations were made to explain the results. Data were collected via a Google Form sent by email to the faculty working at Özyeğin University and Sakarya University during the spring semester of the 2023-2024 academic year. A total of 392 faculty participated in the study. The data collection tool requested specific demographic information and included questions measuring the acceptance level. The findings of the study indicate that the acceptance level of AI tools among the faculty in higher education is high (average 3.61), which falls within the "Agree" range. Additionally, perceptions of ease of use (average 3.69), usefulness (average 3.57), acceptance towards using (average 3.43), and intention to use (average 3.87) the AI tools were also found to be high. When examined in terms of demographic variables, the age variable showed significant differences among the groups on the AI acceptance scale. Furthermore, significant differences were observed based on the duration of use, and it was determined that acceptance levels increased with longer use. When the four sub-factors were considered separately, it was found that only age, education level, and professional title variables showed significant differences in perceived ease of use (PEU).