Executive Summary

AI literacy is one of the key competencies that university students – future professionals and citizens – need for their lives and careers in an AI-dominated world. Cross-national research on AI literacy can generate critical insights into trends and gaps needed to improve AI education.

In this study, we assessed AI literacy of 1,465 students in Germany, the UK, and the US using a knowledge test previously validated in Germany. We additionally measure AI self-efficacy, interest in AI, attitudes towards AI, AI use, and students' prior learning experiences. Our IRT analysis demonstrates that the AI literacy test remains effective in measuring AI literacy across different languages and countries. Our findings indicate that the majority of students have a foundational level of AI literacy as well as relatively high levels of interest and positive attitudes related to AI. Students in Germany tend to have a higher level of AI literacy compared to their peers in the UK and US, whereas students in the UK tend to have more negative attitudes towards AI, and US students are more likely to have high AI self-efficacy. Based on these results, we offer recommendations for educators on how to take into account differences in affective variables, such as attitudes and prior experiences, to create effective learning opportunities. By validating an existing test instrument across different countries, we provide an instrument and data that can serve as orientation for future research.

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