Extending the technology acceptance model: The role of subjective norms, ethics, and trust in AI tool adoption among students

This study extends the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to investigate the adoption of AI tools among university students, incorporating Ethics and Trust as moderating variables and Subjective Norms as a quadratic variable. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) on a sample of 437 students’ reveals that Perceived Usefulness (PU) significantly influences Attitude Toward Using (ATU), while Perceived Ease of Use (PU) significantly influences Attitude Toward Using (ATU), while Perceived Ease of Use (PEoU) does not, suggesting familiarity with technology reduces the role of ease of use. Ethics positively impacts ATU, highlighting its importance in shaping attitudes. However, Ethics and Trust do not moderate the ATU-Actual Use (AU) relationship, and the hypothesized quadratic effect of Subjective Norms is unsupported, confirming a linear relationship. These findings underscore the direct influence of Ethics and Trust in AI adoption and suggest that educational policies should prioritize ethical AI usage and trust-building to enhance acceptance.