AI Literacy and Seminar-Driven Career Readiness among Indonesian Secondary School Students: A Cross-Survey Analysis

The rapid diffusion of generative artificial intelligence (AI) across professional and academic settings has heightened the urgency of building genuine AI literacy among young people, particularly in emerging economies where the gap between AI adoption and preparedness remains wide. This study examines two distinct but complementary phenomena: the effectiveness of an AI-themed educational seminar in shaping career readiness perceptions, and the baseline level of AI literacy among Indonesian secondary school students who attended the event. Using two purpose-built Likert-scale surveys administered on April 1, 2026, this study collected responses from 36 seminar participants (Seminar Evaluation Survey) and 41 students (AI Literacy Survey), primarily aged 17–19. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, Spearman rank correlations, and reliability analyses were employed to test three directional hypotheses. Results show that visual design quality (β = 0.485, p < .001) and data credibility (β = 0.264, p = .011) are the strongest predictors of post-seminar career readiness, together accounting for 75.1% of its variance (R² = 0.751). In the AI Literacy Survey, skill awareness is the sole significant predictor of continued learning interest (β = 0.575, p = .003), while overall AI literacy remains moderate (composite mean = 3.53 out of 5), with AI job optimism scoring lowest (M = 3.05). No statistically significant gender gap in composite AI literacy was detected (p = .239). These findings carry direct implications for educators and policymakers designing AI literacy interventions in Indonesia and comparable ASEAN contexts.