The Influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Support on the Quality of 'What If' Analysis Scenarios among University Students

HRMARS - This study examines the influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) support on student outcomes in higher education project work, focusing on the quality of analytical “what if” scenarios and students’ satisfaction with their presentations. The study addresses two objectives: to determine how AI support affects students’ ability to produce high-quality analytical scenarios compared to independent work, and to examine students’ satisfaction with their presentation outcomes. A total of 53 university students participated and were divided into an Experimental Group (n = 26), which used AI tools, and a Control Group (n = 27), which completed the task independently. Using a qualitative research design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with ten selected students, systematic classroom and presentation observations, student-produced scenario documents, and AI interaction records. Data were analysed using thematic and narrative analysis. The most significant result indicates that the majority of students in the AI-supported group demonstrated multi-level causal reasoning, coherent structural organisation, and thematically complex outcomes, whereas most students in the control group produced linear analyses with conventional or humorous narrative resolutions. In addition, all interviewed students in the AI-supported group reported higher confidence during presentations, compared to mixed confidence levels in the control group. These findings suggest that ethical AI use can substantially enhance analytical depth and presentation confidence, providing a strong empirical foundation for future large-scale research on AI integration in higher education.