Reimagining entrepreneurship education: Insights on AI’s role in preserving the human essence

The rapid diffusion of artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping entrepreneurship education, raising questions about how technological tools influence entrepreneurial intention while preserving the human essence of learning. This study examines the role of AI-related perceptions and human-centered engagement in shaping entrepreneurial intention among university students in Bangladesh, a micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprise (MSME)–dominant, developing economy. Using survey data from 262 students across five universities, the study employs principal component analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and ordinary least squares regression to analyze relationships between engagement, AI comfort, ethical concerns, and entrepreneurial intention. The findings show that human-centered engagement, including interest, perceived usefulness, social support, and confidence, is the main predictor of entrepreneurial intention, while AI comfort and ethical concerns have no direct effect. Instead, AI acts as a supportive educational enabler that shapes learning quality indirectly. The study advances a human-first, AI-augmented perspective on entrepreneurship education and offers implications for MSME-oriented educational practice and policy.