Perception, Usage Patterns, and Attitudes Towards Artificial Intelligence Tools: A Study of UG Students in Government Degree Colleges of Udhampur District, Jammu and Kashmir, India

The study is an attempt to assess the awareness, usage, perceived benefits, and concerns regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence tools among 540 undergraduate students from six government degree colleges falling within Udhampur district, namely Government Degree College Udhampur, Government Degree College Chenani, Government Degree College Majalta, Government Degree College Ramnagar, Government Degree College for Women Udhampur, and Government Degree College Neeli Nallah. The study is survey-based cross-sect Crompton ional study conducted across various colleges. Data has been collected using a structured Google Form questionnaire in August and September 2025. Results indicated nearly universal awareness of AI at 97.4 per cent, with the highest awareness of ChatGPT at 94.8 per cent. The use of AI tools was reported by 88.7 per cent of students, with writing at 42.6 per cent of students, assignment at 31.5 per cent of students, and translation at 20.1 per cent of students. 68.3 per cent of students rated AI tools as very helpful with time saving at 81.5 per cent and better understanding of the subject at 74.2 per cent. Interestingly, 82.6 per cent students believed that they were likely/very likely to misuse AI; only 28.4 per cent of students feel that AI promotes critical thinking, and 92.6 per cent expressed their desire to have formal AI education in the curriculum. Meanwhile, significant differences were witnessed in the pattern and confidence of usage across gender, semester, and income. The study makes a recommendation toward integrating ethical AI literacy and training programs in the undergraduate curriculum.