Perspectives of Students in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education on the Opportunities and Risks Associated with Artificial Intelligence, Part 2

Abstract

This study constitutes the second part of a two-part research series. The first part provided a theoretical framework and a comprehensive literature review, while the present paper analyzes the results of a questionnaire survey conducted among 1,027 students enrolled in humanities, social sciences, and teacher education programs. The aim of the study was to explore how students evaluate the future role of artificial intelligence in everyday life and in the labor market, which risks they identify, and how important they consider AI-related competencies for their future careers. The majority of respondents anticipate substantial societal impact; however, perceptions of career-related effects are differentiated. While 42.5% do not expect AI to significantly influence their career paths, 30.4% foresee positive and 27.2% negative consequences. Overall, 70.3% regard knowledge of AI technologies as important or indispensable for their future careers. Risk perception is particularly high in relation to visual manipulation, misinformation, data security, and privacy protection. Female students and part-time students report higher levels of perceived risk across several dimensions. Regular AI users are more likely to expect positive career effects (39.5%) compared to non-users (26.2%), whereas neutral evaluations are more prevalent among non-users (47.1%). Among those who completely reject AI use, 64.8% do not consider AI-related knowledge important for their careers. The findings suggest that career perceptions related to AI are shaped by the combined influence of usage experience, risk perception, and demographic characteristics. The high proportion of non-users (68.1%) indicates that AI integration in higher education remains limited, highlighting the need for targeted competence development, particularly in humanities and teacher education programs.