Artificial intelligence ethical awareness according to the core competency level among dental hygiene students

Objectives: This study investigated the ethical awareness regarding artificial intelligence (AI) among dental hygiene students based on core competency levels and proposed a competency-based educational approach to improve AI ethical awareness. Methods: Eighty-six dental hygiene students participated in the study and provided informed consent. The core competency survey tool included innovation, communication, relations, and services. The AI ​​ethical awareness survey tool was divided into eight categories, each with 24 questions: responsibility, stability and reliability, non-discrimination, transparency and explainability, people-centered service, employment, tolerance and limits, and robot rights. Results: The group with high core competency had higher levels of AI ethical awareness (p<0.05), particularly in terms of responsibility, transparency, and peoplecentered service. The level of AI ethical awareness was significantly correlated with the relationship competency and service competency (p<0.05). Conclusions: These results highlight the association between AI ethical awareness and core competencies. These results suggest that competency-based education in universities is critical for improving AI ethical awareness. Furthermore, we intend to use the findings as preliminary data to suggest a direction for competency-centered education to improve AI ethical awareness.