Belief, History and Machines: How Religious Traditions Shape Students’ Attitudes Toward Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

In recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly entered the social sphere, including higher education. However, not all cultures perceive it in the same way. This comparative empirical study analyzes how students from two religiously homogeneous countries: Uzbekistan (predominantly Muslim) and Poland (predominantly Catholic) perceive AI in general and as a learning tool. Unlike most studies that focus on technical access or digital literacy, this paper examines the perception of AI from the perspective of historically shaped religious and cultural traditions after the collapse of the Soviet system. The study put forward and tested a research meta-hypothesis: historically shaped cultural and religious traditions should have a statistically significant effect on the perception of Artificial Intelligence by students from Muslim and Catholic countries. We used a standardized Likert-scale survey. The sample consisted of 439 undergraduate students (not majoring in IT). Professional and gender biases were excluded to focus on cultural and religious variables. The z-test at the 90% confidence level was used to test the four key hypotheses. The results showed that students from Uzbekistan have a significantly more positive attitude towards AI than students from Poland. This difference in perception applies to AI both in general and in the educational context. This difference reflects stable ideas about knowledge, traditions and technological progress. The obtained results have theoretical implications and practical significance.