Final-Year Sri Lankan IT Undergraduates’ Perspectives on the Use of AI Tools in Academic Work: A Qualitative Study

Abstract: This focused qualitative study investigates how final year IT undergraduates in Sri Lankan universities perceive the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in their academic work. A sample of 14 was selected employing a mix of purposive and convenient sampling, ensuring the inclusion of different districts, genders, and diverse areas in Information and Technology. Their perspectives, captured through semi-structured, in-depth interviews were analyzed manually using thematic analysis to identify common codes and themes. The analysis revealed five key themes representing the participants’ awareness of AI as an integral part in academic work. Main findings largely mirrored their positive attitude towards the use of AI as a reality in their academic practice. However, their vagueness in equating AI to plagiarism offered insights for reassessing the concept of academic integrity in the university system. Moreover, the participants’ divided ideas about AI as a dependable tool, and about replacing lecturers with AI, signaled emerging views on the dynamic status of using AI in the Sri Lankan university system through the lens of final-year IT undergraduates. The study thus fills the gap in qualitative research concerning the use of AI, purely from the Sri Lankan undergraduates’ perspectives against the rapidly changing global educational practices.