AI Literacy Among Vietnamese University Students: Current Status and Influencing Factors

Driven by global artificial intelligence (AI) penetration and national digital transformation strategies, AI literacy has become a fundamental competency for university students to adapt to intelligent societal and industrial development. While existing literature has extensively explored student AI literacy in Western and developed Asian contexts, empirical evidence focusing on Vietnamese higher education remains limited and fragmented. This cross-sectional quantitative study aims to examine the current status of AI literacy among Vietnamese university students and identify its hierarchical influencing factors using multiple linear regression (MLR) and hierarchical regression analysis. Based on a valid sample of 428 undergraduate students from six representative universities across Northern, Central, and Southern Vietnam, this study adopts a five-dimensional AI literacy framework encompassing AI basic cognition, technical application ability, critical thinking, ethical awareness, and innovative application competence. Descriptive statistical results indicate that Vietnamese university students demonstrate a moderate overall level of AI literacy, with prominent deficiencies in AI ethical awareness and innovative application capabilities. Correlation analysis verifies significant positive associations between demographic characteristics, campus AI learning environment, individual AI learning experience, perceived AI value, and student AI literacy. Hierarchical regression results reveal that campus environmental factors contribute the strongest incremental explanatory variance to AI literacy (ΔR 2 = 0.187), followed by individual psychological factors (ΔR 2 = 0.117), after controlling for demographic variables. Gender and major type serve as stable demographic predictors, whereas grade level exerts no significant influence. This study fills the regional research gap in AI literacy research within Southeast Asian emerging economies, provides empirical evidence for optimizing AI education systems in Vietnamese universities, and offers practical implications for improving student intelligent literacy in digital transformation contexts.