Is our future ready for the future? Investigating speech and language therapy students’ literacy and awareness of artificial intelligence: a descriptive and correlational study

Although AI awareness is increasing in health and education, research specifically focused on Speech-Language Therapy (SLT) remains limited. This study investigated the knowledge, awareness, and literacy levels of SLT students regarding AI, examining the influence of academic year and prior coursework on these variables. A total of 412 undergraduate SLT students (M age = 21.5, SD = 3.43; 366 F, 45 M) from various universities in Türkiye participated. Data were collected via the Artificial Intelligence Literacy Scale and the Artificial Intelligence Awareness Survey. Analysis included descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis tests for grade-level comparisons, and Mann-Whitney U tests for prior AI exposure. Spearman correlation and Chi-square tests examined relationships between subscales and categorical variables. Participants demonstrated high overall AI literacy scores, with no significant differences across grade levels. Strong positive correlations were observed among all subscales of the Artificial Intelligence Literacy Scale, particularly between “Use” and “Evaluation” (ρ = .702, p < .001), indicating that higher usage levels relate to better output assessment. Conversely, a weak correlation between “Ethics” and “Use” ( ρ = .225, p < .001) suggested that technical proficiency does not necessarily correspond with ethical awareness. In the awareness survey, a notable proportion of participants remained neutral on several items; however, over 70% expressed excitement about AI advancements and agreed that AI would enhance their professional skills. SLT students generally possess a considerable level of AI literacy but exhibit caution and uncertainty regarding its clinical integration. This hesitancy suggests that students perceive their current knowledge as insufficient for practical application. The findings underscore the need to integrate structured AI curricula into SLT education, with a focus on professional and ethical dimensions. Notably, senior students expressed stronger concerns about AI's potential impact on future demand for SLT services, highlighting the importance of fostering AI literacy and addressing career-related apprehensions to better prepare students for future clinical practice.