Youth Perspectives on AI through Empirical Analysis of Adolescent Views on Education Identity and Social Inclusion

Abstract The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has significantly shaped the way adolescents access information, engage in learning activities, and interact within digital communities in today's educational landscape. The impact of AI Literacy, Perceived Usefulness, and Perceived Risk/Concern on Educational Engagement and Social Inclusion among adolescents was explored, with Attitude toward AI and Identity Congruence serving as mediators. The research philosophy used was positivist, the approach used was deductive and the research design used was cross-sectional quantitative. The data was obtained from 800 secondary school students aged 13–18 years using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique. The results indicated that AI Literacy and Perceived Usefulness significantly and positively affected Attitude toward AI and Identity Congruence, while Perceived Risk/Concern had significant negative effects on the constructs.