Views of Veterinary Faculty Students on the Concept of Artificial Intelligence and Its Use in Veterinary Medicine Practices: An Example of XXXX University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

Abstract

Artificial intelligence is a developing concept in the field of veterinary medicine, as in other health fields. The study was carried out to determine the knowledge levels of the students of Ankara University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, which is the most established veterinary faculty in Türkiye, on the concept of artificial intelligence and its use in veterinary practices. For this purpose, an online questionnaire was applied to a total of 529 students who wanted to participate in the study, covering all grades of the faculty. The questionnaire consists of two parts. In the first part, there are 10 questions including demographics, level of computer use, knowledge about the concept of artificial intelligence, etc. The second part consists of 26 5-point Likert-type questions to determine students' thoughts on artificial intelligence applications. Data were analyzed using statistical tests. Consequently, the students participating in the study are partially knowledgeable about artificial intelligence (52.9%). They know the importance of following the developments in artificial intelligence for the profession (45.2%). They think that artificial intelligence applications will improve their professional skills (53.5%). They have the opinion that a robot cannot replace a veterinary surgeon (36.7%) and artificial intelligence cannot cause unemployment in veterinary medicine in the future (35.3%). In addition, they believe that artificial intelligence can cause ethical problems (39.3%) and that applications made with this technology should be developed in an ethical sense (42.4%). As a result, while the students think that artificial intelligence will have positive effects in the field of veterinary medicine, they also think that artificial intelligence can bring negative ethical implications. It can be concluded that including elective courses on artificial intelligence applications in veterinary faculties and conducting further research on the subject would be beneficial.