Who will benefit from AIGC: An empirical study on the intentions to use artificial intelligence generated content in higher education

This study explores the role of Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) in undergraduates' learning and research, and its increasing significance in higher education. Against this backdrop, understanding college students' attitudes, behaviors, and intentions towards AIGC is beneficial for better guiding their learning under the support of intelligent technology for high-quality development. Therefore, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, this paper randomly sampled 336 Chinese undergraduates and conducted a survey. The results revealed that: (1) Undergraduates overall hold a positive attitude towards AIGC technology, perceive behavioral control, and intend to use it, yet some students feel less supported by peers and their institutions. (2) For the users group, attitudes towards AIGC technology, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control each have a directly significant positive impact on the intention to use AIGC technology. Attitude and subjective norms are the two strongest predictors of the intention to use AIGC technology. (3) For the non-users group, attitudes towards AIGC technology and subjective norms only influence behavioral intentions through perceived behavioral control, which shows a significant full mediating effect between attitudes towards AIGC technology and behavioral intentions, as well as between subjective norms and behavioral intentions. The study provides valuable insights for enhancing undergraduates' application of AIGC technology.