Abstract
The expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education has intensified the debate over its pedagogical, curricular, and formative implications in business-related programs. In this context, the study analyzes the adoption and pedagogical value attributed to AI by Business Engineering (Ingeniería Comercial) students at two Chilean universities: the University of La Serena and the University of La Frontera.
The research problem lies in the limited situated empirical evidence on how these students incorporate AI into their learning practices and what pedagogical value they attribute to it within their university education. The overall objective was to analyze AI adoption and its attributed pedagogical value, examining the relationship between frequency of use and pedagogical valuation.
A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational study was conducted. The analytical procedure was organized into four stages (n = 192): descriptive statistics of the sample and AI adoption patterns; construction and assessment of the AI Pedagogical Valuation Index (PVI-AI); bivariate analysis between frequency of use and pedagogical valuation; and estimation of an ordinary least squares (OLS) linear regression model.
The results show widespread AI adoption: 98.4% of students indicated that AI supports their learning. ChatGPT was the dominant tool, and the main uses focused on understanding course content and organizing ideas before beginning assignments or studying. The PVI-AI reached a mean of 4.041 out of 5 and showed very high internal consistency (α = 0.939). Frequency of use was positively and significantly associated with the PVI-AI in both the bivariate analysis and the OLS model. The study concludes that AI is already part of the learning ecology of business students, although its pedagogical appropriation is advancing faster than the formal training offered by universities.
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