Artificial Intelligence and Business Studies: Study Cycle Differences Regarding the Perceptions of the Key Future Competences

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to identify the differences in various aspects of the perception of artificial intelligence by students of economics and business studies at different levels of study and, on this basis, to formulate recommendations both to the higher education institutions themselves, which educate in the field of economic and business sciences, as well as to curriculum designers. First, we utilized descriptive statistics to analyze the responses for each construct among undergraduate and postgraduate students. In the second part, we employed the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests to assess the normality of data distribution. Finally, in the third part, we employed the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test to identify the differences between undergraduate and postgraduate students. The results show that statistically significant differences can be identified especially in how students of both study levels see and understand the importance of AI. Although we did not identify significant differences between students of both levels in how they see their role in the future labor market, which will be (or already is) characterized by artificial intelligence, we must emphasize that students of both levels evaluate their roles modestly in this respect. Therefore, on this basis, we have made recommendations for more active development and integration of AI in the study process; the article presents important suggestions for improving education to prepare students for the business world of artificial intelligence.