Evaluating attitudes and anxieties towards artificial intelligence in students of Medical, Pharmacy and Dentistry Faculties

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the attitudes of students in the faculties of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmacy towards the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and to assess the impact of demographic factors, personality traits, and AI anxiety on these attitudes. Materials and Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study included 751 students enrolled in the faculties of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmacy during the 2022-2023 academic year. Research data were collected using an online Google survey form that included participants' socio-demographic characteristics, the General Attitudes toward Artificial Intelligence Scale, the Artificial Intelligence Anxiety Scale, and the Ten-Item Personality Inventory. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 20, with a significance level of p<0.05. Results: The average age of the participating students was 22.15±1.93, and 61.1% (n=459) were female. It was found that 86.7% (n=651) of participants obtained their knowledge about artificial intelligence from the internet and social media. Positive attitudes toward artificial intelligence were higher in males (p<0.05). Females exhibited higher artificial intelligence anxiety compared to males (p<0.05). It was determined that positive attitudes toward artificial intelligence were negatively correlated with artificial intelligence anxiety (r=-0.271, p=0.001), while negative attitudes toward artificial intelligence were also negatively correlated with artificial intelligence anxiety (r=-0.563, p=0.001). Positive attitudes toward artificial intelligence were positively associated with extraversion (r=0.096, p<0.009). It was observed that as positive attitudes toward artificial intelligence and tolerance towards the negative aspects of artificial intelligence decreased, artificial intelligence anxiety increased. Conclusion: In our study, it was found that participants' general attitudes toward artificial intelligence were positive, and their anxieties were below average. To enable effective use of artificial intelligence applications in clinical settings and to alleviate concerns in this regard, it is recommended to include artificial intelligence topics in the curriculum and conduct further studies in this field. Keywords: Artificial intelligence, attitudes, artificial intelligence anxiety, personality traits