DOES AI HELP OR HINDER? THE ROLE OF PERCEIVED USEFULNESS AND INTEGRITY IN UNDERGRADUATE ACADEMIC ADAPTABILITY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/IJMOE.831037Keywords:
Academic Integrity, Academic Adaptability, Artificial Intelligence, Higher Education, Perceived UsefulnessAbstract
The swift adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, specifically ChatGPT, Grammarly, and Quillbot into the higher education sector has affected undergraduate learning behaviours. Concerns with respect to whether AI is improving or diminishing students’ academic adaptability—their ability to change their learning strategies, remain motivated and learn independently—remains. The current study explored the influence of two constructs, perceived usefulness of AI (PU), and academic integrity in AI use (AIN), on undergraduates’ academic adaptability in the Shah Alam, Malaysia. The study used quantitative, cross-sectional design, gathering 388 valid responses through an online questionnaire from Shah Alam undergraduate students. Data were analysed by descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analysis. The study reported that perceived usefulness (r = 0.923, R² = 0.85, p < 0.001) and academic integrity (r = 0.88, R² = 0.77, p < 0.001) both had strong, significant positive relationships to academic adaptability. Perceived usefulness was the strongest predictor, accounting for 85% of the variance. Those who believed that AI is good and using AI ethically perceived higher academic adaptability levels. The study concluded that AI isn’t necessarily beneficial or detrimental—but, the influence is dependent on the students' perceptions of its usefulness and their adherence to academic integrity. Implications to educators and policymakers are presented.
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