The Right to Think in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: A Psycho-Educational Approach to Enhancing Cognitive Autonomy Among University Students

Abstract

This study aims to measure the effectiveness of a proposed psycho-educational intervention program in enhancing cognitive autonomy and independent thinking among students of Amar Telidji University in Laghouat, in light of the rapid spread of generative artificial intelligence tools that have become threatening the ability to think critically and independently. The study adopted the quasi-experimental approach with a design of two experimental and active control groups with pre and post measurement, and the study sample consisted of (100) male and female students from the second and third year license distributed across different faculties of the university, divided into two equal groups (50 students in each group), where the experimental group received an intervention program consisting of seven weekly sessions while the active control group received general lectures on university study skills to ensure control of the Hawthorne effect. The study used three tools: the Cognitive Autonomy Scale, the Higher-Order Thinking Tasks Test, and the Attitudes toward Artificial Intelligence Questionnaire. The results of the Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) showed statistically significant differences at the level of (0.01) between the post-performance means of the two groups in favor of the experimental group, with a large effect size (η² = 0.47), indicating the effectiveness of the intervention program in enhancing cognitive autonomy and higher-order thinking skills among students. The study recommended the necessity of integrating psycho-educational programs into university curricula to protect the right to independent thinking and develop critical competencies in the age of artificial intelligence.