Student Literacy for Shifting from Digital to AI literacy: Mapping Domains, Indicators, and Gender Differences

Introduction: As artificial intelligence (AI) became increasingly integrated into education, AI literacy emerged as a key component of digital literacy, particularly in the context of Society 5.0. Digital literacy expanded beyond access and usage to include critical interaction with, creation of, and adaptation to intelligent technologies. For adolescents, these skills were essential for meaningful engagement in AI-based science learning. However, valid instruments to measure AI literacy in adolescents, remained limited. This study aimed to (1) identify and define the domains and indicators used to measure students' AI literacy skills in Indonesia; (2) assess the overall level of AI literacy among Indonesian students; and (3) examine gender-based differences in AI literacy levels.Methods: The study followed three stages: item construction based on literature review, expert validation, and empirical testing using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). EFA was conducted with 219 adolescents to explore the scale structure, followed by CFA with 220 adolescents to confirm the model.Results: The validated scale consisted of four factors: Technology Skills (3 items), Using Digital Information (6 items), Creating Digital Information (2 items), and Awareness in the Digital World (3 items). While students demonstrated high overall digital literacy, weaknesses were observed in technology skills and content creation. No significant gender differences were found.Conclusions: The study emphasized the importance of schools in promoting not only digital use but also content creation. The validated scale provides a reliable tool for supporting structured digital literacy education as a foundation for AI literacy.